-- PBBM

portion but leaving the roots to allow the plants to recover and produce a fresh crop in the next season.

These strategies are meant to complement the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program which aims to improve the competitiveness of farmers amid the liberalization of the rice trade policy.

The RCEF program was created under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law.

Likewise, the NIA is implementing several measures to develop the Philippine irrigation infrastructure through public-private partnerships (PPPs) on irrigation infrastructure development, climate-proof infrastructure, flood control management and massive reforestation of NIA-supervised watershed areas.

NIA earlier received a total investment pledge of more than PHP1 trillion from potential private partners, which would allow it to pursue its irrigation projects without the restriction of limited funding.

As of Dec. 31, 2021, only 2.04 million hectares (ha), or 65 percent of the country’s potential irrigable area of 3.13 million hectares, had been developed, benefitting around 1.5 million farmers with irrigation.

However, around 1.09 million ha (35 percent) of the remaining areas still need to be developed.

DA, FAO boost cooperation to raise agri yield

The Department of Agriculture on Wednesday said it will intensify its longstanding collaboration with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to help the administration achieve its target of increasing local production and providing affordable food prices.

In a statement, the DA said the two parties discussed pressing issues that should be addressed to make the food security target feasible.

“Among the issues discussed were major concerns on transboundary animal diseases affecting the country’s livestock and poultry industries, intensification of the production and supply of rice and corn, production and mobilization of food through the DA–Bureau of Plant Industry and the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita Program, and programs to stabilize the prices of agricultural commodities,” it said.

The UN FAO made the discussion with the department as it welcomed its new representative to the Philippines, Lionel Henri Valentin Dabbadie.

“Senior Undersecretary (Domingo Panganiban) thanked FAO for its ongoing assistance to developing countries in facilitating the development and promoting sustainability to make food security possible,” the DA said.

Alongside DA’s discussion of the country’s current status in the agriculture sector, the two officials also recognized the need for “constant coordination,” especially for more programs in sync with the food security goal.

The DA said it has also included areas of cooperation to hone the sector into resilience and inclusivity.

“Undersecretary Panganiban welcomed the expertise and support of Mr. Dabbadie in these fields and urged the new FAO Philippines head to work closely with the DA on policy and technical support,” it added.

Panganiban referred to the Philippine Country Programming Framework

(CPF), spanning up to 2024, which covers “rice, corn, livestock, poultry, fisheries, aquaculture, and agroindustrialization.”

For its part, the UN FAO invited the DA to maximize opportunities that may further deepen the skill set of Philippine agriculture.

These include the 2023 Stocktaking Moment, the UN General Assembly’s International Day of Millet, The Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum and the 2024 Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, among others.

PBBM eyes program for hybrid rice production to boost crop yield

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has sought the implementation of a program that will promote the use of hybrid rice varieties to help increase crop production in the country, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.

This developed after Marcos met Tuesday with executives of SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) and farmer representatives from Central Luzon at Malacañan Palace in Manila to address the challenges in the rice industry, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a press statement.

Garafil noted that during the meeting, the SLAC, led by its chairperson and chief executive officer Henry Lim Bon Liong, proposed the conversion of about 1.9 million hectares of rice farming areas planted with certified seeds (CS) to enable the planting of hybrid seeds in four years.

"President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday agreed to adopt hybrid rice as a better alternative to the inbred variety for increased crop production," she said. "President Marcos said he will implement a program to promote the shift by providing subsidies and facilitating loan financing to farmers."

The hybrid technology, if adopted on a two-cropping cycle per year, will give better income to farmers and achieve rice sufficiency in the country, Bon Liong told Marcos.

The SLAC is a private company engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of hybrid rice seed and premium quality rice.

The production of hybrid rice is one of the solutions seen by SL Agritech to address the food security challenges in the country.

The SLAC has three commercial hybrid rice seeds, which are all proven to be high-yielding varieties that could thrive in both wet and dry seasons. Its hybrid rice seed varieties are being distributed in the Philippines and exported to Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and India.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) allows the local production of hybrid rice seeds to improve crop yields in the country.

The hybrid system has given 41 percent better yield than inbred conventional seeds over the past years, according to a joint study by the DA and local government units.

Hybrid farmers have reported harvesting 7 to 15 metric tons (MT) per hectare, higher than the average 3.6 MT/hectare for inbred seeds.

Marcos also discussed with SLAC officials and Central Luzon farmers the other proposals to attain rice selfsufficiency, state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) said in a