Jun Torres

MALAYA
August 08, 2008

PhilRice starts training on new technology
By JOJO DE GUZMAN

MUÑOZ – Rice self-sufficiency in the P_hilippines could be attained by 2010 if farmers will be made to practice advanced method of farming.

According to Ronilo Beronio, acting executive director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) based in Barangay Maligaya here, with proper technology, Filipino farmers can produce seven to nine tons of palay per hectare, far above the present average yield of 3.8 tons per hectare.

Beronio said Philrice has spearheaded a three month intensive training for extension workers and agriculture graduates who will later be deployed to various provinces in the country soon.

He explained that the said training included integrated crop management of high-quality rice seeds, research and development, capacity enhancement, irrigation system repair, restoration and rehabilitation, post harvest and mechanization assistance, farm-to-market roads, marketing assistance, program monitoring and evaluation, incentive system, as well as database management.

The training that started last comprised the tsk force against the rice crisis, according to Beronio. Members of the task force will then be assigned to different provinces and will be coordinating with various institutions for the implementation of the government’s agenda for self-sufficiency in rice.

Beronio stressed that PhilRice as an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, had spearheaded the training program entitled “Focusing on Increasing Provincial Productivity”’ aimed at improving the per-hectare yield of rice through technology-transfer. With a projected palay production of 19,770,004 metric tons in 2010, we will then attain rice sufficiency, he added.