Ormoc adopts flood-tolerant rice variety

ORMOC CITY, Philippines — The city government, citing its gains through modern agriculture viz a viz the flood-prone 22 barangays, has decided to experiment the flood-tolerant rice or the submersion-tolerant (subtol) genotype rice variety that can withstand prolonged submersion in floodwaters.

Mayor Eric Codilla gave the marching order to the city's Agriculture Department to go on with the experimentation.

The city has been the number one rice producer in Eastern Visayas, but it has been also the catch basin of floodwaters from the neighboring towns of Kananga, Matag-ob and Villaba.

City Agricultural Office Crop Division OIC Dante Albarico said a 2-hectare demo farm has been selected in one of the vulnerable barangays for the subtol rice experiment.

The experimentation stage will cost P100,000 for the procurement of seedlings, fertilizer and pesticides, he said, but this will be funded by DRM-Environment and Rural Dev't Program, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Integrated Eastern Visayas Agricultural Reseach Center.

Albarico also told The FREEMAN that his office is now studying a 5-year climate-trend starting 2008 until 2013 to determine the performance of rice in reference to climate change.

In 2010, due to the flooding and incessant rains, the rice industry in Ormoc incurred losses of P3.1 million, 75 percent of which came from the 22 rice producing villages.

He added that the losses will eventually affect Ormoc's P474.2 million average annual income from rice. This amount is the value of the 36,480 metric tons or 729,600 sacks of grains at the price of P650 per cavan.

Other consequences, should erratic weather conditions continues, would be the reduction of the stocks of rice supply in the city.

Ormoc's 184,521 population consumes 21,035,394 kilos annually computed at 114 kilos per year per person. (FREEMAN)