President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. gave his approval for the adoption of hybrid rice as an alternative to inbred rice to increase crop production, Malacañang said Wednesday, Feb. 15.
This followed a meeting with SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) chairman and CEO Henry Lim Bon Liong and Central Luzon farmers to discuss rice industry issues.
Marcos said subsidies and loan financing to farmers will be implemented to support the shift to hybrid seeds, amid SLAC’s proposal to plant hybrid seeds in four years in 1.90 million hectares currently planted with certified seeds.
He also vowed to apply Central Luzon farmers’ best practices in other areas in the country.
Citing the Department of Agriculture and local government units, Malacañang noted that hybrid seeds yielded 41% more than conventional seeds over the past two years, with around 7 to 15 metric tons (MT) per hectare as compared to the average 3.6 MT per hectare for inbred seeds. – KC-ag
