Hybrid rice program saves gov’t $23.25M

The government’s hybrid rice commercialization program (HRCP) saved the country from importing $23.25 million or P1.255 billion worth of rice from 2002 to 2004.

This was one of the salient findings of a mid-term evaluation of the HRCP by a team of researchers from the Sikap/Strive Foundation and PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) led by noted economist Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales.

The researchers found that from 2002 to 2004, the Philippines saved P1,255,632,462 due to hybrid rice production. With an exchange rate of 54 to the dollar at that time, the country saved $23,250,601.

As the production area for hybrid rice increased from 28,379 hectares (ha) in 2002 to 80,061 ha in 2003 to 208,342 ha in 2004, milled hybrid rice production also steadily increased from 7,0943.75 metric tons (MT) in 2002 to 52,085.50 mt in 2004.

Hybrid rice production increased from 29,223 MT of rough rice in 2001 to 1,091,258 MT in 2004. Ten percent of the total rice production from irrigated in 2004 consisted of hybrid rice.

Dr. Gonzales said the financial and economic benefits of the HRCP far exceed its costs with benefit-cost ratios estimated at 1.62 and 1.17, respectively.

Hybrid rice also generated a total of 85,266 jobs from 2002 to 2004 because the labor requirements for hybrid rice production are much higher than for inbred rice.

In the two-year period, the HRCP benefited a total of 247,887 hybrid rice farmers and 1,857 seed growers who derived much higher income than from inbred rice.

In addition, the program induced synergies between hybrid and inbred rice farmers in terms of lower seed use per hectare, soil analysis, integrated nutrient and pest management, and synchronous planting, among others.

The researchers concluded that the HRCP shows encouraging results in the improvement of farm management practices among hybrid and inbred farmers as well as among seed growers, leading to the attainment of higher yields, improved factor productivity, and overall efficiency.

They added that the implementation of succeeding programs must consider nine outstanding issues learned from the HRCP: politics of HRCP; target setting; understanding the technology adoption curve; R&D, technology promotion and training central to national capacity form hybrid rice development; seed subsidy and budgetary support; credit repayment rates; private sector model for marketing hybrid seed; seed quality and control system; and the role of traders, millers, and consumers in the rice supply chain.