Better technology helps NE farmers get higher yields

Farmers in Brgy. Agbannawag, Rizal, Nueva Ecija achieved their target of increasing their yield by one ton per hectare (T/ha) for the 2006 dry season.

The farmers, who are involved in the Technical Cooperation Project 3 of the local government of Rizal, PhilRice, and the Japan International Cooperating Agency (JICA) increased their yield from 6.89 T/ha in 2005 dry season to 8.11 T/ha in this year’s dry season.

According to PhilRice project coordinator Ruben Miranda, the yield increase was achieved as a result of improved adoption of rice production technologies including hybrid rice.

The highest yield was 12.19 T/ha while the lowest was 5.69 T/ha, which is still higher than normal yields in irrigated areas, says Miranda.

TCP 3, which started in Brgy. Agbannawag in 2005, established technology demonstration areas to showcase the performance of different varieties particularly hybrid rice and the effect of crop management technologies on yield.

Crop management technologies promoted in the areas includes the minus-one element technique, which is a simple soil analysis tool and the leaf color chart, a tool used to measure the nitrogen requirement of rice plants.

The plastic drumseeder, a lightweight implement that is used to establish rice seeds in straight rows is also promoted. Higher yields were observed in drumseeded plots (8.05 T/ha average yield of 20 farmers) than manually broadcast-seeded plots (7.27 T/ha average yield of 10 farmers).

According to Miranda, "more than half of the project beneficiaries use plastic drum- seeder while majority of them apply fertilizers based on MOET results and LCC readings. Majority of the farmers also planted hybrid rice during the last season," Miranda said.

Farmers noted that the check variety PSB Rc82 (Peñaranda) obtained higher yield (7.68 T/ha) when applied with fertilizers based on MOET and LCC results.

Higher yield (6.8 T/ha) was also obtained in plots applied with the general fertilizer recommendation for Nueva Ecija compared with the farmer’s practice, which yielded about 6.26 T/ha.

Based on the project’s monitoring report, the low rat damage in the farmers’ fields is also one of the reasons for the yield increase. During the dry season, PhilRice rat management experts taught farmers how to effectively manage rats by emphasizing the use of different approaches such as rat hunting, trap barrier system, and burrow management; community action, baiting and proper timing.

To support the application of technologies, project implementers conducted regular rice science and technology updates for extension workers and farmers.

"This is done to enhance their technical capability in rice production, project management, and strengthening their organization," Miranda said.

TCP 3 is a nationwide project with other sites located in Batac, Ilocos Norte and RTR, Agusan del Norte.