QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP) was recently approved by President and Department of Agriculture (DA) head Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Agriculture Department has formulated the MRIDP to address the present challenges in the rice industry and in the years to come. This program was designed to prioritize the welfare of Filipino farmers, boost the rice value chain, and improve agricultural production across the Philippines.
“Kaya natin ginagawa ito, hindi lamang para mapakain natin ang buong Pilipinas pero para pagandahin natin ang buhay ng ating mga magsasaka – disente naman ang buhay nila, mapag-aral nila ‘yung mga anak nila,” President Marcos explained during the Rice Industry Convergence Meeting.
During the meeting at the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Convention Hall, he discussed the need to aid farmers and improve their lives such as the “consolidation and the organization of more cooperatives for their capital requirement through convergence.”
Moreover, assets, resources, funding, as well as technology including mechanization, the adoption of new farming techniques, and digitalization, could be made readily available to the farmers for their benefit.
Lastly, the program is set to improve agricultural production in the country to achieve the government target of 97 percent rice self-sufficiency by 2028.
"The program will be carried out through several strategies such as climate change adaptation; farm clustering and consolidation or convergence of intervention; value chain approach; and digital transformation," the Presidential Communications Operations (PCO) office said.
In a separate meeting with the Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement (PRISM), the Chief Executive also proposed all farmlands in the country to undergo geo-mapping to establish soil maps for specific agricultural products to ensure increased yield and improve farmers’ income.
An online source defines geo-mapping as “the process of converting raw data from surveys into a geomap that helps by providing a visualization of the location of utilities quickly and accurately.”
Prior to the launch of MRIDP, President Marcos already expressed his desire to boost the rice value chain in the country during his visit to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) last November 2022 where he emphasized the importance of research and development as the first link in achieving this goal.
Through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the agricultural department continues to work closely with the premier institute on numerous research projects to help improve the country’s rice industry.
Data from the DA showed a decline in the total palay harvest area and average palay yield in 2022. It reported that of the 19.76 million metric tons (MMT) of palay in 2022, 14.94 MMT (75.6 percent) came from irrigated areas and 4.82 MMT (24.4 percent) from non-irrigated areas. (MVMV, PIA-CPSD)
Photo from Presidential Communications Office
