Rice program focuses on area expansion

MANILA, Philippines - Dr. Frisco M. Malabanan, national coordinator of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) hybrid rice program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said yesterdaythat since the inception of the GMA rice program, it has focused its efforts on the expansion of hybrid areas.

Last year, the DA has raised its hybrid rice target area from 400,000 to 500,000 hectares in order, it said, to attain a 92.83 percent rice sufficiency.

To provide greater assistance to farmers, Malabanan said it has identified 32 focus provinces for hybrid production. These are areas with sufficient irrigation facilities and have a proven good track record in hybrid rice cultivation.

“Ninety-six percent of the 32 focus provinces registered a 33-percent yield advantage or harvested 30 cavans more than the certified seeds,” he said.

Malabanan said Nueva Ecija, Isabela, and Cagayan, are the top three provinces planting hybrid rice which has recorded 29-to 48-percent yield advantage over certified seeds. Regions I, II, III, VII and IV-BV topped the list of hybrid rice planting.

Dr. Malabanan was with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap last week during a hybrid rice festival at the 60-hectare SL-8H hybrid rice farm in Brgy. Balite in San Miguel, Bulacan. The farm is managed by the Balicasan Irrigators’ Association headed by broadcast journalist Benjamin Laurente.

He said there is a need for a massive information campaign for hybrid rice as “its adoption rate is still low as it is still a new technology.”