Hybrid rice seeds build multi-millionaire cooperatives

Hybrid rice seed production has not only changed the lives of many rice seed producers but has also made cooperatives that became millionaires in just a few years of operation.

One of them is the Roxas Hybrid Seed Growers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Roxas, Isabela, whose total resources have already reached almost P12 million after four years of operation..

So rapid was its growth such that its total resources ballooned to P2.56 million in the first year and P7.18 million in the second year. Amazingly, it started with a paid-up capital of only P22,500. .

The members are graduates of the University Without Walls of PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute), a season-long training program wherein farmers learned and practiced hybrid rice seed production at the same time.

The coop may very well be considered as the first cooperative in the Philippines that was built by hybrid rice. It was established on February 9, 2001 with 115 members cultivating a total 159 hectares (ha), as it was a dry season, said Ferdinand Viernes, coop manager.

Actually, the coop was organized as a facility for faster and easier marketing of the members’ produce. One could just imagine how difficult it could have been for the farmers to be selling their produce individually to PhilRice [Philippine Rice Research Institute], which was running the country’s hybrid rice commercialization program then. At the same time, it would have been difficult also for PhilRice to transact business with 115 farmers instead of only one entity.

At the end of their first production season, 2001 dry season, the members harvested 117,000 kilograms (kg) of hybrid rice seeds worth P14.04 million.

In the first year, the coop earned P819,624.00 for transacting business with PhilRice. The coop remitted to the members only P2,200 for each bag and retained P200 as its income.

In the following dry season, the members planted 286 ha and harvested 142,360 kg worth P17.0832 million.

In the next year, the coop earned P909,845, a little shy of the one million mark, from the sale of hybrid rice seeds. The income could have reached almost P2.0 million, but the coop’s commission of P200 for each bag of seeds was reduced to only P100.

The next crop of 254 ha produced 135,760 kg of hybrid rice seeds worth P16.29 million. However, only 70 members planted 72 ha in the next wet season and harvested 36,220 kg (1,811 bags) valued at P4.35 million.

Coop records show that the members’ the total production reached 600,000 kg worth P72 million during the last dry season as 233 members planted 609 ha. The average yield was as high as 1,300 kg/ha.

The coop has invested its income on transportation facilities (service van, a six-wheel cargo truck, and a motorcycle) worth P594,694 as well as office equipment and fixtures, seed cleaner, a 505-square meter lot, and a building for a total of P2.173 million. The building houses the office, work area, and warehouse.

Members may hire the van at a discounted price of 20 percent. The rental for a van from Roxas to Manila and back is P5,000, hence members could save P1,000 for each trip.

The cargo truck, worth P275,000, was acquired with an equity of P125,000 from Congressman Edwin Uy of the Second District of Isabela. It has a capacity of 2,500 kg.

In addition, the coop has helped a member, Dionisio Pambid, acquire a second hand tractor worth P1.4 million from PhilRice. Twenty members were also able to acquire 8-horsepower hand tractors from the national rice agency.

On top of that, the coop has put up its own gasoline station with a capitalization of P1.428 million, which covered the cost of the pump, pump meter, underground tank, electrical system, fire extinguishers, canopy, and construction.

The new facility, which carries the name "Hybrid Gas Station", provides services for both members and non-members. Only members, however, get rebates at the end of the year for their purchases from the station.

Even with that, the station also benefits non-members, as its gasoline price is 12 centavos lower than other stations.