Manila said it is supporting the proposal of the International Rice Research Institute (Irri) to involve Southeast Asian nations and their trade partners in the development of new rice varieties that are resilient to multiple environment stresses.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the new varieties will help increase rice production amid the challenges presented by climate change and the expansion in the population of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“The Philippines, being the host country of Irri, will reiterate its strong support to the institute’s proposal to the 41st Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (Amaf) Meeting, hoping that Korea, Japan and China can really come forward, and significantly push this initiative,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement.
Dar went to Brunei Darussalam to represent the Philippines in the 41st Amaf.
Irri’s proposal hopes to bring the Asean+3 (South Korea, Japan and China) to be involved in the selection and the development of new rice varieties that are resilient to multiple environmental stresses, pest and diseases, thereby elevating the production capacity in the region.
“We need to combine these strengths and to have the right rice varieties that can adapt to all potential scenarios and also meet the market readiness and expectation acknowledging that in Southeast Asia consumers have particular preferences,” Irri Director General Matthew Morell said in a statement.
Morell added that the Irri’s proposal is set to build a comprehensive testing and selection that is also backed up by training capacity for its national partners.
“We are not just transferring these new varieties but we are doing it with the national partners for them to conduct it themselves,” he added.
The Philippines is endorsing Irri’s proposal during the Amaf meeting and it hopes to secure the strong support of Japan, South Korea and China.
El Niño episodes in the Philippines usually wreak havoc on rice production. The destruction rice crops in 1998 and 2010 forced the country to import some 2 million metric tons (MMT) of rice. Output fell during those years as El Niño dried up farms and destroyed standing rice crops.
The rice sector also bore the brunt of the El Niño episode this year. The dry spell destroyed billions of worth of unhusked rice and caused farmers to incur losses.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said inadequate water supply/rainfall, and the dry spell caused the harvest of rice to decline in Mimaropa, Bicol region and Western Visayas.
Palay production in January to June fell by 5.1 percent to 8.269 MMT, from 8.713 MMT in the same period last year, according to data from the PSA.
Image credits: www.philrice.gov.ph