AGRICULTURE PHOTO
Re-electionist senator Cynthia Villar has encouraged the planting of inbred seeds to help farmers increase their production of rice.
In her talk delivered to farmer leaders graduating from farm mechanization and inbred seed production programs, the senator even compared the more productive but less costly inbred seeds to the more expensive hybrid seeds.
“The use of inbred seeds will increase farmer’s yield by as much as 50 percent,” adding “This will also provide the opportunity for farmers to become seed growers engaged in trade.” 30
Villar pushed for mechanization of farm operations to minimize labor cost by as much as 25 percent, citing labor cost of palay at 1.20 per kilo for Vietnamese farmers rice produced compared to its Philippine counterpart of a high 4.60 per kilo.
The P10 billion Rice Tariffication Law was created to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of Filipino farmers not only through the development of inbred seeds but also by providing rice farmers with equipment and skills enhancement programs.
The 5-day training program that was held at the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance Farm School in Bacoor, Cavite saw 32 farmer graduates from CALABARZON, Occidental Mindoro, Bicol Region and North Luzon, Central Luzon and Leyte.
Reynaldo Peja of Leyte, one of the trainees under this program, projected that the 5-hectare land he is cultivating will produce 120 to 150 sacks of palay from his previous harvest of only 90 sacks due to the modern technology and practices he learned from the program.