(Late post) – Rice farmers who belong to a federation of cooperatives in Oriental Mindoro will receive a loan fund of P60-million so that they could buy hybrid rice seeds and fertilizers to improve their yield.
During the Biyaheng Bukid Farmers and Fisher Folks forum held in Bongabong on Wednesday, July 26, officials of the group said their members who have a total area of 4,000 hectares would like to shift to hybrid rice seeds but they did not have money to buy the seeds and fertilisers..
A bag of hybrid rice seeds good for one hectare costs between P4,500 to P5,000 compared to P1,200 for farmers produced good seeds.
Hybrid rice varieties also need sufficient fertilizer application to maximize its production potentials.
While local rice seeds could only produce as much as 4-metric tons per hectare, hybrid rice seeds could produce up to 10-metric tons under ideal conditions.
The record harvest for hybrid rice seeds is 16-metric tons in one hectare achieved by a farmer in Iloilo.
At a buying price of P20 per kilo, a farmer who uses hybrid seeds could earn as much as P200,000 compared to P80,000 if he uses ordinary seeds.
The Agriculture Department is pursuing a hybridization program to increase farmers’ yield and income while at the same time ensuring sufficient rice supply for the country.
All over the country, only about 300,000 hectares are planted to hybrid seeds of the total.harvested area of 4-million hectares.
For 2018, the Agriculture Department targets 500,000 hectares.of new area for the Hybridization Program.
Targetting an average yield of a conservative 6-metric tons per hectare, higher than the national average of 4.23-metric tons, the Agriculture Department aims to lessen the volume of rice importation.
For 2017, the International Rice Research Institute said the country needs about 800,000 metric tons to fill up the supply gap.
The Mindoro Oriental farmers group who on Wednesday gathered for the inauguration of a rice processing complex which was constructed in 2016 and completed only recently said a loan of P15,000 per hectare would be enough to buy hybrid seeds and at least 8 bags of fertilizers.
The Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an agency under the Department.of Agriculture and Fisheries will conduct an Orientation on the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA).
Identification and monitoring cards will be issued to the farmers so they could avail.of the PLEA program.
The loan does not require a collateral and has a 6% interest per year which will.go to the credit conduit.
The PLEA program for rice requires that farmers should use hybrid rice seeds and apply fertilizers, organic or inorganic.
Also during the Bongabong Biyaheng Bukid, farm machineries and equipment were released to farmers’ groups.
Fisher folks in Naujan town and Bongabong also received fiberglass fishing bots and fishing gears from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Among those who attended were Mangtan farmers who also received assistance from government.
(Photos by Allan Jay Jacalan and Mayette Tudlas)
Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
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