LEGAZPI CITY, Albay (PIA) -Some 300 rice farmers and agriculturists from Bicol and Northern Samar would be going home with new learnings after their visit in the Philippine Rice Research Institute in Albay (PhilRice-Bicol) for their bid to adopt the modern farming technology to help boost their rice output.

Victoria Lapitan, Philrice director for Bicol, said the visit was part of the Lakbay Palay Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol which presented new rice varieties and demonstrated the usage of new technology and modernized machineries to help the participants decide which practices could be applied in their farms.

Lapitan cited the pros and cons of inbred and hybrid technologies.

“Both have advantages and disadvantages. The seeds of hybrid, (may have) 15 tons of potential yield but its seeds cannot be planted again since its quality would be lower than the first harvest. While the inbred could be planted all over again but it only has 10 - 12 tons per harvest,” she said.

She added that the Philrice promotes certified high-quality seeds approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and National Seed Quality System (NSQS). Oliver Manangkil of the Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Division said farmers had 21 rice varieties to choose from to boost their farm’s produce.

“With the release of these new rice varieties, we are providing more options to farmers as to what variety is most suited to their farms’ conditions so they can further increase their production and achieve the best quality of their produce,’’ he said.

P10 billion annual allocation for six years

Lapitan noted that P10 billion will be allotted yearly for the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program of the DA under the Rice Tarrification Law (RTL).

The P10 billion funding will be appropriated yearly for the next six years for rice farm machinery and equipment (50%), rice seed development, propagation and promotion (30%), expanded rice credit assistance (10%) and rice extension services (10%).

Lapitan said only farmers registered to the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) can avail these benefits.

As such, she strongly urged farmers to register to receive these benefits. With the promotion of modernized rice farming, trainings, exposure to new rice varieties, machineries and equipment, Lapitan said these can greatly help the agricultural sectors to improve the quality of their farming and harvest. (PIA5/Albay/CLM)