Farmers to get 20-M bags of palay seeds
Credit to Author: EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ| Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 17:14:42 +0000
THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is set to distribute 20 million bags of certified palay (unmilled rice) seeds to farmers across the country before 2019 ends.
The planned move is part of the agency’s tasks in connection with the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law.
To be distributed are high-quality inbred palay seeds including Rc 216, Rc 160 NSIC Rc 222 or “Umani,” and two location-specific inbred varieties, which have good market prices for their taste, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
He said PhilRice would focus on provinces with high potential for competitiveness.
“So far, we have identified 57 provinces based on the size of area harvested, yield level, cost of production, and share of irrigated area. These municipalities and cities must also have an annual area planted of more than 500-ha (hectare) for dry season 2019-2020,” Dar was quoted as saying.
The bags of seeds, he said, were meant for planting around one million hectares of rice land which can contribute in increasing the yield up to six tons per hectare in high-producing provinces by 2024.
Currently, the country’s national average yield for rice is at 4 metric tons per hectare, significantly lower than rice-producing neighbors Vietnam and Thailand.
Flordeliza Bordey, PhilRice deputy executive director for special concerns on the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RECP), earlier said the distribution of the palay seeds will start in October, in time for the farmers’ preparation for the next cropping season.
She said the agency has already coordinated with several seed growers and cooperatives where the palay seeds for the rice farmers nationwide would be sourced from.
Farmer-beneficiaries are those listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), a nationwide database of information of farmers and fishers from the country’s various provinces, which serves as basis for some of the government’s support programs.
Under the law, each farmer will receive seeds for two consecutive cropping seasons until December 2020 and will be entitled to a maximum of four bags of inbred seeds, depending on farm size for the October to December planting season.
Prior to the seed distribution, Dar said PhilRice will provide farmers with technical briefings on seed preparation and other interventions and technologies to achieve the target yield in their areas.
“Farmers will also be given rice production manual and seed propagation booklet to help them achieve the yield potential of certified seeds” he added.
Furthermore, Dar said the Department of Agriculture (DA) has already sought the assistance of the local government units (LGUs) to validate the farmer-beneficiaries listed in the RSBA, identify drop-off points and potential temporary seed storage facilities, and schedule the seed delivery.
Under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, the government shall allot P3 billion or 30 percent of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for the production and distribution of high-yielding rice seeds over six years.