Target: 500k Hectares! Upland Rice Farming Program Launched

In a simple media conference in Davao City yesterday, the Upland Rice Farming Program which aims to help rural families produce rice for their own consumption was launched.
I was joined by three executives of Seedworks Philippines led by Vice President Remus Morandante, Frank Aguda and Nick Munda whose company produces a modern hybrid rice variety which could be sown and planted in drylands and upland areas.
The program, “Kalahating Ektarya Sa Bawat Pamilya,” is a hunger-mitigation initiative which I designed to help rural families survive the impending rice crisis because of the export ban imposed by India which supplies 40% of the world’s rice requirements and the effects of El Niño.
Through my farm, Braveheart Farms and Nursery, I will link up with local government units and offer to conduct a short course on Upland Rice Farming using the Tatag TH82 Hybrid Rice Variety.
The Tatag TH82 had undergone trials when I was Agriculture Secretary and later as MinDA Chairman and showed that it could yield 4 to 7 metric tons in un-irrigated areas.
This program was designed following the request by a local media entity, DXND-NDBC, that I help the rural families prepare for the expected rice shortage.
Aside from Seedworks Phils., other companies have also pledged to support the program including DA-PhilRice Midsayap, AMO Foliar Fertilizer, Green Valley Machineries, Better Yield Agri, and organic fertilizer producers.
The program targets 500,000 hectares of unutilized upland areas.
On Aug. 11, the first workshop for LGU Agriculturists and farmers will be held at the NDBC-DXND Auditorium in Kidapawan City and on Aug. 12 in Alamada Town Hall in Alamada, Cotabato.
Admission to the workshop is free and TH82 Seeds and AMO Foliar Fertilizer will be raffled off
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