Press Release
April 9, 2008

Loren cites 3 keys to 100% rice sufficiency

Senator Loren Legarda said yesterday that irrigation, high-yield seeds and modern post-harvest facilities are badly needed if the Philippines is to achieve 100 percent rice sufficiency.

Legarda pointed out that of the 3.1 million hectares of rice lands that need irrigation, only 46 percent or 1.4 million hectares are serviced by irrigation systems.

"From 1993 to 2003, only 195,200 hectares of the total target of 294,500 hectares received irrigation support. The missed target for irrigation itself is too small," she said.

With the government allotting P5-billion as support for rice farmers, Legarda said it should be made known how much will be allotted for irrigation, seeds and fertilizer support and if any will be allocated for post-harvest facilities.

She said Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has been briefing senators regarding the rice situation, and that she expects the official to come up with a breakdown of the P5-B allocation.

"I commend Secretary Yap for going out of his way to talk to us even if the Senate has yet to start public hearings on the rice crisis. That's transparency which I hope every one in government will emulate," Legarda said.

Providing farmers post-harvest equipment and facilities like threshers and drying would reduce their production cost and lessen grain losses, Legarda said.

She cited a report by the International Rice Commission that 10 to 30 percent of grains are lost post-harvest due to improper handling, and lack of drying and storage facilities.

In the Philippines, the annual rice post-harvest losses had been estimated at 1.4 million metric tons, about the same tonnage the Philippines is importing from Vietnam and Thailand to avert a rice crisis.

"We must increase yield from the 4.27 million hectares planted to rice in our country, while reducing pre- and post-harvest losses. That's our long-term objective to ensure 100 percent rice sufficiency," Legarda said.

The senator said that by providing incentives and support, the government would entice more Filipino farmers who had shifted to high-value crops to plant rice anew.

"With rice being auctioned around $700 per metric ton, it has become a high-value crop in itself. And I see it staying this way from hereon in, especially with the observed minimal increase in the world rice output leading to decreased inventories."

Legarda said the Philippines must endeavor to meet its own rice requirements without resorting to importation, and having done that to aim to become a rice exporter.

She noted that despite the high auction price of rice in the world market, Vietnam, Thailand, China and the other rice-exporting countries are starting to impose restrictions on their exports.

"Their setting limits on the tonnage they are willing to sell only shows the scarcity of rice globally, with three billion people considering it as their staple," said Legarda, chair of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee.

"The scarcity of rice supply is being made worse by climactic factors like prolonged dry spell and, on the opposite side, floods."

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