Hybrid rice marks record harvest in Mindanao

Mindanao rice farmers marked a record-high harvest with the use of a new hybrid rice variety, boosting the country’s chances of increasing its overall harvest levels by the end of this year.

Farmers from Agusan, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato and other Mindanao provinces reported average increases of over 30 percent in their harvest following the use of the Magilas 500 hybrid rice variety. The percentage increase translates into some five to 7.5 metric tons of rice harvest per hectare, a vast improvement from previous levels of 3.5 metric tons per hectare of irrigated land and 2.5 metric tons per hectare of rain-fed farm using the traditional rice varieties.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said the government has identified hybrid rice production "as the strategy for attaining self-sufficiency in this staple food crop". The Arroyo government gave hybrid rice production a push through Administrative Order 25 which launched the Unlad-Ani Program.

In addition to Magilas 500, which was developed by international agricultural research leader Monsanto, Philippine rice farmers have also begun using the Mestizo variety developed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

Lorenzo said the government "is optimistic that the country can slow down rice importation in the near future with the growing domestic propagation of hybrid rice". A possible review of the rice pricing policy as a result of increased harvest levels is not too far off, he added.

Lorenzo said President Arroyo has directed the Department of Agriculture to speed up the domestic propagation of hybrid rice varieties and has set aside some P450 million last year for this purpose.

He said a total of 125,000 hectares for both wet and dry season planting have been set aside for the current year. The total area corresponds to a projected output increment of some 500,000 metric tons of palay or 325,000 metric tons of rice.

The country currently requires some 20.931 million metric tons of rice to feed an estimated population of 76.4 million. However, Lorenzo said current palay production of 12.9 million metric tons falls short of this requirement.

The government, at present, fills the supply gap through rice importation mainly from Vietnam, Thailand and India. Through the National Food Authority, the government imports an average of 375,000 metric tons of rice from these countries.