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BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Technologies could increase rice productivity
NEW technologies are continuously being developed to increase rice productivity in the country.
Even Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T. De La Peña has acknowledged the outputs of rice research and development (R&D) and the industry’s role in helping the country’s rice sector.
“In a country where rice is a staple food, nothing compares for an ordinary citizen than to be assured of having an affordable, accessible, high quality, and nutritious rice at all times,” De La Peña said during the recent 29th National Rice R&D Conference at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
He cited some of the newly-developed technologies that farmers need to know and maximize to enhance rice productivity.
These technologies were developed under the Rice Industry Strategic S&T Program that aims to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production by 2020.
The program is a partnership among government agencies such as PhilRice, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, Metal Industry Research and Development Center, and the University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB).
According to De La Peña, specific and quantifiable targets were set under the said initiative.
The use of certified seeds, bio-stimulants and elicitors, and efficient use of fertilizers and water were targeted to increase productivity by 10 percent, while reducing production cost by five percent.
De La Peña emphasized the benefits of technologies developed for rice mechanization.
He said the precision seeder and transplanter can help enhance yield by five percent and prevent losses during harvesting and drying by another five percent.
The hand tractor with harvester and transplanter attachments can significantly reduce the labor cost from 20 to only two laborers per hectare.
“The improvement of the combine harvester with riding type attachment has upgraded both reaping and threshing in one passing, thereby reducing labor cost and postharvest losses from five percent to three percent per hectare. The rear-infrared drying using conduction systems can also reduce drying time by 20 percent compared to pavement drying,” he said.
He also mentioned other technological advancements that are ready to be rolled-out in the field.
The pellet-type rice mill is suitable for village-level milling, and has a milling recovery of 60-63 percent for milled rice, and 91 percent for brown rice.
De La Peña reminded the science and technology community to ensure that R&D outputs will reach the farmers being the primary food producers.
Whether the cost that we have invested have generated the desired benefits, we still have to see that these are adapted on a wider scale with the goal of reaching more rice and rice farming communities nationwide towards achieving a rice secure Philippines./PN
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