SAVING EVERY GRAIN In this photo taken in 2020, a farmer in Tiwi, Albay, collects leftover rice grain under the heat of the sun after putting it on a rice-threshing machine known in Bicol as “paghinimuro.” —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA
MANILA, Philippines — Farmer group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) on Saturday criticized the government’s shift towards the use of hybrid seeds over inbred seeds, saying that there were better ways for the country to achieve rice self-sufficiency.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. recently approved to adopt hybrid rice seeds, which the Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to plant over 1.5 million hectares of land.
READ: DA eyes planting of hybrid seeds in 1.5M hectares of land across PH
“Kaiba sa certified seeds, ang hybrid rice seeds hindi na pwedeng i-binhi. Palaging bibili ang magsasaka. Ang kumpanya ng hybrid seeds ang may tiyak na kita dito,” said Rafael Mariano, chairman of KMP and former secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform.
(Unlike certified seeds, hybrid rice seeds cannot be propagated. Farmers will always have to buy. The company of hybrid seeds will be the ones making profit.)
Marcos, also the DA chief, struck the deal with private research firm SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) to convert target areas with certified seeds to hybrid seeds.
“Dapat prayoridad ang food production. Kung yung 4.8 million hectares harvested area for rice natin ay mapataas ang yield ng lima hanggang anim na tonelada kada ektarya, maabot natin ang self-sufficiency at hindi na kailangan mag-import,” said Mariano.
(Food production should be the priority. If 4.8 million hectares of harvested area for rice can increase yield by five to six tons per hectare, we can reach self-sufficiency and we do not need to import.)
Mariano emphasized that there should be a variation of rice crops to improve genetic diversity.
“Kung may genetic uniformities o iisa lang ang binhi, kapag tinamaan ng sakit, peste o virus ang palay, salanta agad,” he warned.
(If there is a genetic uniformity, or only one kind of propagation, if the rice gets hit by disease, pests or a virus, it will wilt.)
The DA has previously emphasized however, that crop yield was 41 percent higher with hybrid seeds compared to conventional ones. Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City or Soccsksargen, as well as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are among the DA’s target areas for hybrid seed planting.