MINDANAO can make significant contributions for the country to achieve its rice-sufficiency goal.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna said during the opening of the three-day rice forum held on Thursday in Digos City that “in the next 10 years, we cannot fully expect the other rice- producing areas, such as Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, to produce more rice as these areas are now being utilized for other infrastructure such as expressways to give way to development.”
De Luna said areas planted to rice in the country remain within 4.5 million to 4.7 million hectares only. This makes rice production more challenging as the population of 100 million Filipinos is continuously increasing.
While Mindanao is seldom visited by typhoons, de Luna also noted the Mindanao farmer’s adoption of rice technologies as one factor that will make them at par with rice farmers in Luzon.
“Farmers here are already adopting technologies, such as utilization of high-yielding inbred and hybrid seeds,” he said, adding that the government and private sector are collaborating to provide technical and policy requirements that will not only increase yield but improve farmers’ income.
Agriculture Assistant Regional Director Febe Orbe said three local government units (LGUs) in Region 11 (Davao Region) made it to this year’s national rice achievers’ awards. These are the provincial LGUs of Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala will be handing over the awards on March 26 in Metro Manila.
Orbe said one of the growth drivers in rice production in the region is the efficient irrigation and water management and the use of high-yielding varieties.
Davao del Sur Gov. Claude Bautista in the same forum said the provincial government has allocated P300 million to support rice-farm mechanization, use of high-yielding seeds, including pesticide and fertilizer support.
As the provinces of Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental embark on industrialization, Bautista said it is expected to employ 100,000 to 200,000 workers coming from various parts of Mindanao, which means additional rice consumers.
“We need to unite and set parameters to identify actual demand and the volume requirement for rice production so that we can eliminate surplus and stabilize prices of rice,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eduardo Jimmy Quilang of the Philippine Rice Research Institute urges rice farmers to diversify their production such as intercropping rice production with vegetables, fish, and livestock to increase their income.
He said farmers must get themselves organized to mechanize their production and process their palay into quality rice products.