Philippines: Government Urges Farmers To Go Hybrid

The Philippines government is urging rice farmers to plant more hybrid rice during the dry season of 2009 to boost their yields and consequently prop up the domestic production of palay for this year.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said there is an incentive for farmers to plant hybrid rice as the government will provide a seed subsidy of P1,500 for every 18-kilogram bag until 2013.

The government is urging the massive propagation of hybrid rice as part of efforts to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2013.  The target to achieve rice self-sufficiency has been moved to 2013, from 2010, due to the spike in fertilizer prices and the lack of support to the agriculture sector in recent years.