Hybrid rice farmers get insurance

Agriculture Sec. Procy Alcala speaks to Ilocos Norte farmers in his recent visit to the province. (Lei Adriano photo)

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff Reporter

LAOAG CITY—The Dept. of Agriculture is giving out crop insurance coverage to encourage farmers to invest in hybrid rice seeds.

The insurance coverage, which has a maximum of P10,000 per hectare, is a bid to entice farmers to switch to hybrid rice seed which the DA sees as step towards the country’s food sufficiency.

DA Region I executive director Valentino Perdido said around 20,000 hectares planted with hybrid rice seeds covering the entire region are now insured this planting calendar.

According to Mr. Perdido, all farmers in the region who may want to plant hybrid rice seeds can avail of crop insurance to enable the rice sector to recover from production losses due to previous typhoons that hit this northern part of Luzon.

Agriculture officials, led by Secretary Proceso Alcala, visited Ilocos Norte recently to encourage more farmers to plant hybrid rice despite the higher investment it entails because “it is worth it”.

Hybrid rice seeds can yield as much as seven to eight metric tons (MT) per hectare compared to inbred varieties which only yield between four to five MT per hectares. High yielding varieties are grown by both private and state entities.

Because of the high cost of hybrid seeds and farm inputs, the DA with counterpart funding from local government units is giving out soil ameliorants, hybrid seeds and fertilizer subsidy to farmers in Ilocos Norte. Some farmers however prefer to use inbred varieties because it is cheaper and it requires lesser irrigation.

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