Philrice Says Free Inbred Seeds Increased Rice Yield

According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), farmers that received and made use of the free inbred rice seeds from the government improved their yield by 4.2 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) or 15.7%.

“For the wet season, yield increased from 3.69 [MT/ha] in the 2019 wet season to 4.03 [MT/ha] in the 2021 wet season,” said PhilRice. They also said that their monitoring has shown that yields regularly from 3.63 MT/ha in the 2019 dry season to 4.2 MT/ha in the 2022 dry season.

“In close coordination with our partner-local government units, we carefully plan the seed delivery schedule in every city and municipality,” says Ms. Flordeliza Bordey, Head of the DA-PhilRice RCEF Program Management Office.

“This made seed distribution activities timely based on the planting period of various localities.”

PhilRice says that an estimated 98% of its beneficiaries under the inbred rice seed component of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program (RCEP) have planted the seeds received during the actual season it was given to them.

Over 10 million bags of certified inbred seeds were distributed to around one million farmers from RCEP’s 42 targeted provinces. Approximately 1.5 million hectares of farms are planted with RCEP inbred seeds per year.

“As of July, 1.57 million bags were distributed to more than 630,000 farmers in 731 cities and municipalities, with an estimated area coverage of 720,000 hectares for 2022 wet cropping season.”

PhilRice is tasked with the implementation of the yearly ₱3 billion inbred rice seed aspect of the ₱10 billion budget of the RCEP. The RCEP was made under the rice trade liberalization law or Republic Act 11203.

Source: Business Mirror