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[av_heading heading=’Iloilo eyes 1-M metric tons rice output in 2018′ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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February 19, 2018
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ILOILO – This year, the province targets to produce one million metric tons of rice.
With most farmers now using hybrid rice, the goal could be achieved, said Provincial Agriculturist Ildefonso Toledo.
Las t year, Iloilo produced 906,000 metric tons of rice.
Toledo said it was in 2015 when the provincial government began recommending the planting of hybrid rice through the High-Yielding Technology Adoption Program in partnership with the Department of Agriculture.
Farmers could produce 10 to 15 metric tons of rice when using hybrid technology, higher than the seven to eight metric tons of rice production using inbred rice varieties.
“In the past years, our average yield across ecosystem ranged from 3.5 to 3.7 metric tons because of climate change. With the introduction of high-yielding technology, which we recommend hybrid rice –and this is also one of the programs of Secretary (Emmanuel) Piñol – our production increased,” said Toledo.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that we would be able to hit the one million metric tons this year,” he added.
Toledo said they have included in their budget the provision of free hybrid seeds to farmers to further encourage them to plant hybrid rice.
“Our municipal agriculturists are currently making a master list for interested farmers,” he said.
Each farmer could get one sack of hybrid seeds per one hectare of rice land, he said, calling on interested farmers to visit their respective municipal agriculturists to be included in the master list.
While Toledo cannot yet disclose the exact fund allocation for the free hybrid rice variety, he assured that it would be enough.
Currently, there are about 100,000 farmers in the province with an average landholding of 1.2 hectare per farmer.
Of the 134,000-hectare rice area in the province, 75,000 hectares are rain-fed while 55,000 hectares are irrigated. (PNA)
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