MANILA, Philippines--In an apparent bid for rice self sufficiency, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has embarked on the massive production of new seeds developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and on a more aggressive buying of palay from local farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap issued these directives in support of the government's target of providing Filipinos with sufficient volumes of rice within three years' time without having to depend on costly importations.

Yap explained that the DA would focus on the massive production and propagation of new seed varieties that are higher-yielding, more adaptable to adverse weather conditions like drought and flooding, and more resistant to pests and plant diseases.

He said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself directed him to focus on mass producing and spreading the use of these seeds after IRRI Director-General Robert Ziegler briefed her on the latest breakthroughs in seed technology during her recent visit to the IRRI headquarters in Laguna.

Very interested
"The President was very much interested in these new seeds and she actually told me that these are the things that need to be rolled out very early so that we can use them during the dry cropping season in 2009," Yap said.

"We now have to ramp up production of these seeds for the use of our farmers," he added.

The DA earlier unveiled plans to expand its subsidy program for farmers to encourage them to use higher-yielding hybrid seeds.

Yap said that under the President Arroyo's P43.7-billion Fields program, some P9 billion would be allocated for seed subsidy, production and distribution.

Fields, which the President unveiled during last month's National Food Summit, stands for fertilizers, irrigation and other rural infrastructure, education and training for farmers, loans, dryers and other post harvest facilities and seeds.

Aggressive buying
Yap likewise reiterated the need for the National Food Authority (NFA) to aggressively buy palay at P17 a kilo from farmers for the rest of the summer harvest season as well as in the wet or main cropping season.

In an earlier interview, Yap said the P17-a kilo buying price would be implemented indefinitely.

"If the NFA can buy as much as 10 percent of local production, then it must do so," he said. For this year, the DA targets full-year palay production to hit a record-high 17.3 million metric tons.

Over the last two years however, the NFA's local palay (rice) procurement accounted for less than one percent of total production.

"In May and as we enter June, there are a lot of provinces with surplus harvests that will need the support of the NFA, as it continues to buy palay at P17 per kilo," Yap said. "The President's order for the NFA to maintain this support price is a clear signal to farmers that we want them to continue producing, and we want them to produce more at a profit."

At the same time, Yap reassured the public that the country has sufficient stockpiles of the staple food, with the 10-percent gap between supply and demand already taken care of since the NFA has already contracted 1.713 million MT of imports as of end-April.

These NFA imports are equivalent to a buffer stock level of 32 days at the current daily consumption average of 33,000 MT, he added.

Yap said that on top of these contracted import volumes, the DA also expects the summer harvest to surpass 7 million MT, which is higher than last year's dry crop yield of 6.7 million MT. As of May 5, some 6 million MT of rice have already been harvested.