THE Philippines could stop depending on rice imports if it steps up investments in the production of hybrid rice, according to an industry expert.
Dr. Frisco
Malabanan, senior technical consultant at SL Agritech Corp., said the estimated
7 percent to 10 percent shortfall in local rice output could be drastically cut
if the country would produce hybrid rice in about 1.5 million hectares. This,
he pointed out, should be coupled with the correct support in terms of
fertilizer and irrigation.
“My recommendation, since rice is the staple food of Filipinos, is that there should be really support for hybrid rice production. This technology has been proven and tested to give farmers a 30-percent increase in income as it could double or even more than double their yield per hectare,” Malabanan told the BusinessMirror during the first episode of its Farm Fridays podcast. (https://businessmirror.podbean.com/e/farm-fridays-with-jennifer-ng-hybrid-rice-technology-with-frisco-malabanan/ )
Malabanan noted that it is difficult for the Philippines to be dependent on other countries for its rice supply due to the thin volume traded in the world market and volatility in global production.
“Our concern is the thin supply in the world market. But right now we have solutions to produce the sufficient amount of rice requirement of the Filipinos,” he said. “[Investing in hybrid rice production] will ensure that Filipinos would have sufficient rice supply whatever happens to our trade partners,” he added.
Malabanan, who is also a technical adviser to the Department of Agriculture’s hybrid rice program, proposed that the government provide farmers with direct cash assistance so that they could shift to hybrid rice production.
“The DA and the government should invest in our farmers. If the government could give billions-worth conditional cash transfer to the poor, then it can also give to farmers planting in the targeted 1.5 million hectares for hybrid rice,” he said.
“For example, you just give them P5,000 per hectare for the additional costs incurred for seeds and other inputs. It’s just a small amount to give farmers the proper support, so that they will be able to produce the country’s total rice requirement,” he added. Malabanan said he is not against rice importation but it would be better if the country’s staple requirement would be ensured through local output.
“There’s nothing wrong about rice importation, it’s part of the open market and globalization. But what I mean is that, given that rice is our staple food, we must see to it that we have enough production for Filipinos,” he said.
The DA is eyeing to expand the adoption of hybrid rice in the country through its annual P7-billion rice program to improve farmers’ productivity and income.
The country’s rice production from January to September declined by nearly 5 percent to 11.32 million metric tons from 11.909 million metric tons due to reduced harvest area, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.