China’s hybrid rice introduced in Kalinga province

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Two hybrid rice varieties from China were introduced in Kalinga province in a bid to help stem the rice shortage in the country. The two high-yielding rice varieties, known as LP 0330 and LP 0331, have been pilot-tested in Kalinga and have adapted well to the province's climate, said Kalinga provincial agriculturist Gerry Jose. He said that the two varieties could yield 10 to 11 tons of rice per hectare during the dry season cropping and a little less during the wet season. If the claim is true, then this is much more than the yield of existing hybrid rice varieties in the market. Mestizo (PSB Rc72H), released in 1997, had an average yield of 6.3 tons per hectare. Magat (PSB Rc26), developed for Cagayan Valley climate and soil, has an average yield of 5.8 tons per ha. The introduction of these LP varieties has been worked out by the Philippine-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (Philscat), a Philippine-China agency based in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, through a tie-up with Long Ping Company, the company that created the LP hybrid rice varieties. The city of Tabuk in Kalinga is seen as the new center of hybrid rice development. Other than Lopon town in Davao Oriental, Tabuk is now the main producer of hybrid rice seeds. More than 70 hectares in Tanubong village in Tabuk had been planted with A x R, the parent line of the F1 hybrid rice seeds produced by SL Agritech, the country's top hybrid rice producer. This grew from the 14.5 hectares of trial production in Tanubong last year. Agritech is thinking of further expanding its production area here to 300 hectares. Producing the parent seeds is very profitable for the Tabuk farmers. Burcio Beyden, one of the contract growers, said that he sold his A x R for P50 a kilo to SL Agritech. At the total 1,600 kilos for just one hectare, that amounted to a net of P50,000 if he has to subtract the initial cost of the seeds and inputs. The starter seeds are then bought by Agritech and sold to farmers. This year, Beyden decided to plant the parent seeds in his 1.5-hectare farm. One of the original seven farmers in Tanubong who planted A x R last year was able to buy a new hand tractor. Last year, the farmers were able to produce 18,850 kilos of parent seeds. After buying these seeds, Agritech later sells these to other farmers. The biggest yield for SL8 hybrid rice was obtained by Aida Badong of Buluang, Baao, Camarines Sur, with her 344 cavans in one hectare in 2006. This is the highest yield from hybrid rice in the country. More farmers have decided to be parent hybrid seeds producer because SL Agritech had it on contract that it would pay for the inputs before planting and the amount with a minimum interest would be deducted upon sale. Technical assistance is also provided by the company. Agritech is also talking with the National Food Administration in the province for the renting of the NFA warehouse and seed processing facilities here. Right now, the harvests are brought to the PhilRice facility in Isabela for analysis and tagging. - GMANews.TV