For a Filipino, a meal is not complete without rice, so much so that our country is among the world’s top rice consumers. Even with this high demand, the equation seems off — our country, which was once the world’s top rice producer, is now among the top importers surpassing Japan and the US. The country’s golden era of rice production seemed like a distant memory.
With food security and agriculture sector growth as among his administration’s priorities, President Marcos has announced the implementation of a program that will use hybrid rice varieties in order to help increase crop production.
According to farming experts, these hybrid rice would have substantial yielding ability that could enhance farm productivity by 10 to 15 percent. That would be a big step toward rice self-sufficiency. On the other hand, there are also critics of this move, citing the prohibitive seeds’ cost and the unpreparedness of our farmers to adapt to the appropriate technology. Nevertheless, the President, who is also secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), is bent on testing, implementing, and trying out new strategies to address the evergreen challenge of food security, especially when it comes to rice production.
Given this directive by the President, the DA has announced that it is “crafting a strategic plan for the local production of hybrid rice to increase crop yields in the country and make it self-sufficient in rice in two years.”
According to Arnel de Mesa, DA assistant secretary for operations, part of the plan is to “promote the planting of hybrid seeds on 1.5 million hectares of land during the dry season.” The DA, De Mesa revealed, is “looking at expanding the production of hybrid rice into Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).” The Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon regions have already adopted the hybrid rice technology, the DA noted.
To convince the farmers to adopt hybrid rice production, the department will unveil a financial and credit program. “The President has instructed that our local farmers be given enough assistance in terms of water supply, fertilizers, and other support. These must also be provided at the right time,” said De Mesa.
Based on a joint study by the DA and various LGUs, the hybrid system has “produced a 41 percent higher yield than inbred conventional seeds over the past two years; while hybrid farmers have reported harvesting 7 to 15 metric tons (MT) per hectare, higher than the average of 3.6 MT/hectare for inbred seeds.”
According to the DA, from January to November 2022, the “National Rice Program has served about 1.06 million rice farmers and 3,528 farmer cooperatives through the provision of hybrid and inbred or certified seeds, production-related and post-harvest machinery, small-scale irrigation, as well as extension and training activities. The program has also established Hybrid Rice Model farms.”
Looking back at the history of rice production in the Philippines is like witnessing a tragedy unfold. From our apex as a leading rice producer and exporter, our story took an ugly turn and was filled with wrong decisions, absence of preparedness, and lack of political will. We tumbled hard with corruption, smuggling, and bureaucratic mess. And our neighbors, who learned from our rice-producing technology, soon climbed the ranks, leaving us woefully behind. We hope that this “hybrid” decision is turning the page to the right direction.