A 500-square meter demonstration area in my farm has successfully established that Hybrid Rice could be grown in the Upland Areas even with just a sprinkler system as water source.
Yesterday, I checked on the demo farm planted to US Agriseeds TH 82 which is distributed by Seedworks Philippines and saw that the grains had started to turn gold.
The harvest is set Sept. 25, or 121 days after it was sown, which is actually 11 days longer than the expected maturity of the variety of 110 days.
There could be at least two explanations for the longer harvest period which include the continuous rains and the cool climate in Kidapawan City which resulted in a slower ripening process.
The yield may not also be up to my expectations and this is mainly because of the presence of pests and birds, the usual consequence of a rice farm located in isolated areas.
Nonetheless, the objective of the experiment started on May 27 which is to show that Hybrid Rice Varieties could be grown in the Upland Areas with minimal watering had been established.
This experiment is now being replicated in at least 12 other areas all over Mindanao in cooperation with PhilRice, Seedworks and private sector partners.
When adopted all over Mindanao, the Upland Areas estimated at over 1-million hectares could soon turn into fields of golden grains.
This is a trailblazing program which could improve the lives of people in the poor upland communities and boost Mindanao’s food sufficiency program.
#FarmIsTheBestClassroom!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
(I took this video yesterday morning, Sept. 10, using my Samsung Android Phone.)
https://fb.watch/aAPKoYstsr/
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