3 HARVESTS IN 1 YEAR! COTABATO ILOCANO FARMERS PROVE WE COULD BE RICE SELF SUFFICIENT

(Photos and drone shots were taken by the media team of the Mindanao Development Authority)

A community of Ilocano farmers in Manubuan, Matalam, Cotabato has proven that with readily accessible irrigation water, highyielding seeds, sufficient soil nutrients and farm equipment, the dream of a Rice Self-Sufficient Philippines could come true.

Yesterday, I joined the Small Water Irrigation System Association (SWISA) of Manubuan, Matalam in a harvest festival to celebrate the second of their three croppings for the year. Manubuan SWISA President Tranquilino Polanco, a retired public school teacher and former vice mayor of Matalam, said the P7-M Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS), one of the first to be constructed all over the country when I was Agriculture Secretary, is the key to their multiple croppings and the increase in their annual yield per hectare from 3 to 21 metric tons.

“Before, we were only able to plant once a year, minsan kung mahina ang ulan, failure pa,” Polanco said adding that their average production per hectare before the SPIS was established was only 3 metric tons per hectare per year. In 2017, after President Rodrigo Duterte launched the SPIS Program of the Department of Agriculture, a small budget was allocated for the experimental phase of the new technology. The construction of the Manubuan SPIS started in January 2018 and was completed three months later.

By April of 2018, the farmers were planting rice in a 25-hectare area served by the SPIS

Hybrid rice seeds could produce as much as 12 to 14 metric tons in suitable areas, thus the need for a trial planting to determine which of the different hybrids would perform well in Manubuan.

“Kayang-kaya natin maging rice sufficient at itong experience namin ang patunay.,” Polanco said.

“Ang malaking problema na lang namin ngayon ay ang presyo ng bilihan ng aming palay. Kanina sabi sa akin ng trader P13.50 lang daw ang kilo. Kawawa naman kami kapag magpatuloy ito,” he lamented.

The farmers have proven that with the needed interventions, they could double and even triple their production and what needs to be done by government now is to assure them of a faire price for their palay. That is the critical factor in our quest for a rice selfsufficient Philippines and the ball in in the hands of our government. (MinDA)

(Photos and drone shots were taken by the media team of the Mindanao Development Authority)

equipped with steel pipes which distributed water from the reservoir.

The Manubuan SWISA also received one 50-HP tractor with rotavator, one Kubota Rice Combined Harvester and a 1-kilometer concrete road pavement from the highway up to the reservoir site.

“First year namin, nakadalawang harvest kami. Then, sinubukan namin three times a year noong 2019. Nakaya namin kasi mabilis ang pagbungkal ng lupa at pag-harvest. Tapos yong concrete na FMR, ginagawa namin bilaran,” Polanco said.

From 3-metric tons once a year, the farmers’ production increased to 7-metric tons per harvest and since they harvested three times a year, the total production per hectare per year ws 21-metric tons.

“Hindi pa nga kami nakasubok ng hybrid at ang gamit namin ay inbred lang na binhi,” he said.

The Manubuan SWISA now is raising funds from among its members to procure additional pipes to expand the irrigation service area to at least 50 hectares.

Yesterday, old man Polanco accepted my proposal to set up a demonstration area for different early-maturing hybrid rice varieties which could give them a higher yield and better quality grains.

NATIONAL NEWS