Rice expert pushes hybrid technology

MANILA, Philippines - A Chinese rice scientist who was formerly with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said hybrid rice technology “is the best technology that can make the Philippines self-sufficient in the staple.”

Dr. Weijun Xu said hybrid rice technology will likewise enhance the country’s socio-economic conditions and benefit the broad masses of its people.

Of the many types of seeds used to boost rice production, “hybrid seeds have proved their worth,” he said in an interview.

Dr. Weijun said increasing the country’s rice yields is just a matter of utilizing the right technology.

China , he said, which has a population of more than 1.3 billion people, has sparked its ambition to attain rice sufficiency through hybrid technology.

 “Aside from feeding this big number of people, China can still export its rice surplus in the world market,” he said, adding that in China , more than 60 percent of its rice lands are planted to hybrid rice.

According to Dr. Frisco Malabanan, national coordinator of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) hybrid rice program of the Department of Agriculture (DA), last year’s coverage of the program was only 200,000 hectares which, he said, “was not even 10 percent of the 2.7 million hectares for certified and inbred seeds.”

Dr. Noel G. Mamicpic, a Filipino rice scientist who was former dean of the University of the Philippines graduate school in Los Banos, Laguna, said the government will succeed in its rice self-sufficiency program “if we will go into hybrid rice production in a more massive scale.”

“If we can allocate just P2.5 billion per year for the hybrid rice program, this would be enough for 800,000 hectares to be planted to hybrid rice which will produce an additional 3.0 million metric tons (MT) of palay,” Mamicpic also said in an interview.