STO. DOMINGO, Nueva Ecija – Nueva Ecija farmers on Friday (April 12) were challenged to adopt hybrid rice and compete against the influx of imported rice now that the Rice Tariffication Law has taken effect.
Hybrid seeds proponent SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) and the Nueva Ecija provincial agriculture office launched the Masaganang Ani 300 Award, hoping to improve farmer morale and widen the penetration of hybrid rice in cooperation with the entrepreneurship movement Go Negosyo and the Office of the President.
“Nandiyan na iyong batas eh (The law is there). The only thing we can do is to cope with it,” said Henry Lim Bon Liong, SLAC chair and chief executive officer.
The Masaganang Ani challenge is open to all farmers, who will be encouraged to use hybrid seeds, and the correct application of fertilizers and pesticides, to produce at least 300 bags of unhusked rice per hectare.
Lim Bon Liong said hybrid rice farmers have been generating yields of as much as 200 cavans per hectare and have not been affected by low grains prices. Growing 300 cavans of palay per hectare would triple farmers’ revenue, he said.
Three Nueva Ecija farmers have breached the 300-cavan mark – Severino Payumo who generated 345 cavans per hectare in 2007; Eduardo Policarpio, 316 cavans in 2010; and Danilo Bolos, 311 cavans in 2017.
SLAC also launched a campaign which encourages consumers to buy and patronize locally produced rice. Armand Galang