The Philippines
June 26, 2009
Source:
Malaya via
SEAMEO SEARCA
Three new rice varieties designed to help farmers grow more rice
in difficult conditions have been officially recommended for
approval for commercial cultivation in the country and are
expected to help the Philippines become less dependent on rice
imports.
Bred by the International Rice
Research Institute (IRRI), one variety is flood-tolerant,
one is drought-tolerant, and one is salt-tolerant.
"In the Philippines about 400,000 hectares of rice-growing land
is affected by salinity, and in any year up to 370,000 hectares
can be flood-affected," said Dr. David Mackill, program leader
and plant breeder at IRRI. "Both these conditions can completely
destroy a rice crop or decrease yield.
"Yield is also reduced by drought that occurs in upland and
rain-fed areas where rice is not irrigated. Having rice
varieties that can cope with difficult growing conditions such
as flood, drought, and salinity will be particularly helpful for
poor farmers who rely on marginal land to grow their rice.
"Rice-growing land that has limited productivity will become
more productive when these new rice varieties are used – this
will help Filipino farmers produce more rice," he added.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, every year Filipinos eat an average of more than 100
kilograms of rice per person. With population increasing, demand
for rice continues to grow in the Philippines, which is already
the world’s biggest rice importer.
"The development of these rice varieties demonstrates how IRRI
and its partners can increase the yield of rice through
research," said Dr. Mackill.
"Ongoing investment in rice research, breeding, and extension
will help to increase rice yields and improve the sustainability
of rice production to help avoid future rice price increases."
The new rice varieties have been tested in field conditions and
evaluated by the Rice Varietal Improvement Group through the
National Cooperative Testing program of the Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PhilRice).
"The Rice Technical Working Group of the National Seed Industry
Council will now recommend the varieties for official approval,
which is expected to occur sometime in late 2009," said Thelma
Padolina, NCT national coordinator at PhilRice.
As a nonprofit organization, IRRI provides the seed for these
new varieties at no cost to PhilRice.
PhilRice has already
started distributing small amounts of seed to farmers for
further adaptation tests. Seed increase of breeder and
foundation seeds is now being done by IRRI and PhilRice. When
officially approved, basic seed will be available to seed
growers and selected farmers that can cater to other farmers. It
is also expected that seed exchange among farmers in the target
areas will be active with the new technologies.
IRRI and PhilRice continue to work together and more new rice
varieties especially designed for the Philippines are expected
to be released soon. |
|
