DA Set to Launch Masagana Plans This October

The Department of Agriculture is aiming to launch the Masanga 200 and 150 this October to increase the country’s rice production.

DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa mentioned that “By October, we will be launching Masagana 150 and 200. We are aiming to increase production for inbred rice to 7.5 metric tons (MT) per hectare and hybrid rice to 10 MT per hectare,”

Former Agriculture Secretary William Dar initiated an iteration of the Masanga 99 of the Marcos Sr. administration from 1973 to 1984.

With Masanga 150, it hopes to reach 7.5 tons of inbred rice per hectare yield equal to around 150 caravans at ₱8.38 production cost per kilogram. Masanga 200 aims to reach a yield of 10 tons per hybrid rice per hectare, which is around 200 caravans at a production cost of ₱7.82 per kilogram.

With Masagana 150 and 200, the market price will be set at ₱27.50 per kilogram.

The plans have been met with stark opposition, with others saying the programs are bound for failure.

However, President Marcos Jr. has said these are “good plans” that are yet to be put into operation.

De Mesa has mentioned that the DA is looking at aiming for three million hectares for Masagana 150 and 200.

With the Masanga plans set for October, the DA is scheduled to implement this by looking for farmers with yields of more than 5 MT to be able to reach the 7.5 MT per hectare goal of the Masagana 150.

“We’ll start it by phase, so we’ll start with areas that have a good yield, access to irrigation. As we progress, we will deal with the needs of other rice areas,”  says De Mesa.

Source: Philstar