FIRST SAY:
“The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult, and dreadful things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”
― Katharine Hepburn
We note the latest announcement from the Department of Agriculture (DA) that they are pushing for the construction of deep piers intended for large ships to lessen the logistics cost of farm inputs such as fertilizers.
The idea is to utilize engineering intervention in a serious effort to lower the cost of producing rice in the country.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the Philippines is trying to be competitive compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors in terms of producing rice that’s why the DA is working to lessen the cost of logistics of farm inputs.
De Mesa said in a news forum in Quezon City that Vietnam, for instance, is producing P6 per kilo of rice, while the Philippines produces a kilo of rice at P12 to P14.
Labor is the major cost component in producing rice, and labor cost is at a premium in the Philippines, the DA official said, adding that’s the reason for the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law, which allocates P10 billion annually under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).
Five billion pesos, or 50 percent, he noted, goes to farm mechanization aimed at lowering the labor cost component in producing rice.
“Mahal din iyong input sa atin dahil iyong logistics, iyong binabanggit palagi ni Secretary Tiu Laurel iyong fertilizer na dadalhin ng Mindoro manggagaling pa iyon ng Bataan, so bago makarating iyong fertilizer from Bataan to Mindoro na nakailang lipat iyong tracking ang laki ng gastos,” De Mesa said.
“So, kung mayroon tayong deep na pier – iyong malalim na pier, ang tawag nila nga
doon ay panamax ba – malakihan, puwedeng doon na dalhin directly iyong barko, magdaong mas malaki iyong matitipid – bababa about P15 to P20 immediately iyong presyo ng inputs,” he added.
De Mesa said that aside from improving logistics, the DA is also focusing on enhancing the distribution system, as well as post-harvest facilities to make the country’s agriculture sector more competitive.
According to the DA official, the agency targets to attain much higher rice productivity, noting that currently, the national average is only at 4.1 metric tons per hectare.
Nueva Ecija, the country’s rice granary, produces six to eight metric tons per hectare, he said, noting there are many areas in the country that are producing three to four metric tons per hectare because of limited use of high-yielding varieties, irrigation, and fertilizer due to high input cost.
The Philippines ranks 8th among the top producers of rice, but the grain is too in demand among Filipinos that the country still need to import this commodity.
It is good that there are continuous efforts to revive Philippine rice production.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and PhilRice, in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños, submitted 14 new inbred and dry-seeded rice varieties in 2015, which were then approved by the National Seed Industry Council.
Among the newly released varieties, four inbreds—NSIC Rc394, Rc396, Rc402 and Rc414—and five dry-seeded—NSIC Rc416, Rc422, Rc424, Rc426 and Rc430—were developed by PhilRice.
These varieties vary depending on their maturation age and yield, with the NSCI Rc394, NSCI Rc396, and NSIC Rc402 yielding between 5.1 to 5.5 metric tonnes per hectare and taking up to 106 to 107 days to mature for early harvest. These variations largely dictate how farmers navigate stronger, more devastating typhoons without their crops becoming collateral damage.
According to PhilRice Breeding and Biotechnology Division Head Norvie Manigbas, “The earlier the varieties mature, the earlier they are ready to be harvested. Our farmers can harvest and thresh the crop before strong typhoons or heavy drought come.”
Other rice variants also come in dry-seeded varieties, which are specifically designed to be resilient in pest-prone conditions. These varieties have higher resistance to common rice pests and diseases, such as bacterial leaf blight, blast, green leafhopper and white and yellow stemborer.
Due to highly unpredictable weather phenomena in the Philippine climate, the Philippine Rice Research Institute has promoted the cultivation of drought-tolerant rice varieties and the utilization of El Niño-ready technologies in paddy-rice production. This is after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported the possibility of a long occurrence of El Niño.
The recommended rice varieties that PhilRice encouraged farmers to plant are early-maturing types, such as the SB Rc10 (Pagsanjan), NSIC Rc130 (Tubigan 3) and NSIC Rc152 (Tubigan 10), which can yield up to 9.8 tons per hectare and mature at a maximum of 107 days. In addition, PhilRice urged farmers to use water-saving technologies, such as controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying, aerobic rice, drip irrigation and reduced tillage technology.
Comments