GMA launches rice festival

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — Thousands of farmers from various parts of the country gathered yesterday at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) here as President Arroyo launched the National Rice Festival.

The President led the giving of awards in the 2004 Unlad Ani awards and was assisted by Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo and Pangasinan Gov. Victor Agbayani.

The Unlad Ani awards is an incentive system designed to encourage local government units (LGUs) at the municipal and provincial levels to focus on increased farm productivity using the high-yield hybrid "Gloria" rice seeds.

The winners were also awarded P500,000 per province and P150,000 per municipality for rice-related agricultural projects.

The National Rice Festival is the major event capping the Philippine Year of the Rice to celebrate the thanksgiving of Filipino farmers for a bountiful harvest of "Gloria" rice.

The President also said the government will give seed support to farmers by providing access to hybrid rice seed for farmers tilling irrigated areas and certified seeds to those farming in non-irrigated areas.

She expressed optimism that the country will be self-sufficient in its rice supply by 2005 as she launched the feeds assistance program for farmers who are also involved in hog-raising.

She has also announced the availability of discount cards to farmers who wish to purchase hybrid rice and certified rice seeds.

"We used to import one million metric tons of rice every year but, last year, this was cut down by half owing to the shift to hybrid rice," she said. "We will be rice self-sufficient by this year and hope to be joining the ranks of rice-exporting nations next year."

The President laid out a six-point program that will ensure food security, including clean water for every family, more jobs, more schools, wider coverage by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and cheap medicine.

Under her food security program, the President said her administration intends to irrigate at least one million hectares of irrigable land to expand the production of hybrid rice.

Under the Arroyo administration, she said, the government has been spending P20 billion annually for agricultural modernization.

With the President at the awards ceremony was Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative to the Philippines Kariyan Mei.