100% adoption eyed for high-yield rice seed

LOCAL GOVERNMENT units (LGUs) are being counted on to ensure 100% adoption of high-yield rice seed this year, funded by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)-Seed Program.

In Zambales, the total area planted to traditional seed has been steadily dropping from 16% in 2018, to 5% in 2019 and 0.06% in 2021, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

“RCEF greatly contributed to the increase of high-quality seed utilization in our province. We commit to achieve 100% high-quality seed utilization this 2022,” Crisostomo R. Rabaca, provincial agriculturist of Zambales, said in a statement.

The RCEF seed program is a six-year initiative to help farmers compete with foreign rice imports, with 42 provinces involved in the rollout of high-yield seed.

PhilRice Executive Director John C. de Leon said the institute is working closely with LGUs, other agencies, seed growers’ cooperatives and associations, and legislators.

“For the second year in a row, our rice farmers (achieved) record production of 19.96 million metric tons of palay (unmilled rice),” he said.

The seed program’s impact on overall rice production for the dry and wet seasons in 2021 was estimated at between 15% and 23%, while its impact on production at targeted provinces was about 38% to 59%, PhilRice said.

In the dry season, 1.65 million bags of seed were distributed to more than 600,000 farmers. During the wet season, 1.76 million bags were distributed to more than 700,000 farmers.

The total area planted with RCEF-issued seed was 466,578 hectares in the dry season and 572,203 hectares in the wet season.

The RCEF is a component of Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, which sets aside P10 billion a year to increase the productivity of rice farmers. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson