MANILA, Philippines - Henry Lim, chairman and chief executive officer of SL Agritech Corp., said yesterday he is hopeful the present administration “will pay a closer attention to hybrid rice production,” as he stressed that “our country’s best option to become self-sufficient in rice is hybrid rice and its accompanying technology.”
He said he was optimistic the Philippines would achieve rice self-sufficiency in three years if the government would aggressively push the production of hybrid rice.
“That, I believe would spell the end to rice importation. It is lamentable to note that since 1985 and almost every year thereafter, we have been importing the cereal, spending billions of pesos which could otherwise be spent for the construction of postharvest and irrigation facilities and farm-to-market roads,” Lim said.
Lim said in China, more than 60 percent of its ricelands are planted to hybrid rice. With over 1.3 billion people to feed, China is not only self-sufficient in rice but it has also enough for export. Lim said that at present, seven Asian countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Burma, and Vietnam (where we import a lot of our rice), are adopting the hybrid rice technology of his firm.
He said Nigeria, one of the world’s biggest rice-consuming countries, is also adopting its seed technology.
Citing statistics, Lim said the average yield per hectare from inbred rice variety is only 70 to 80 cavans per hectare, while the average yield of a hybrid rice variety is 230 cavans per hectare.
He cited farmer Severino Payumo of Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija whose record harvest last year of 345.6 cavans per hectare won him the grand prize in the Search for Hybrid Rice Highest Yielder initiated by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist of Nueva Ecija and SL Agritech Corp. in cooperation with four local government agricultural agencies.
Payumo broke the record of lady farmer Aida Badong of Camarines Sur whose harvest per hectare in 2007, was 345 cavans.