balita.ph; August 8, 2012 11:27 pm 

MANILA, Aug. 8 –- A new farming technique–the "dynamic rice crop management system," could help the Philippines regain its lofty status as a rice exporting country.

The technique,which was recently introduced by the Department of Agrarian Reform in partnership with the Department of Agriculture,follows the balance treatment– from selection and preparation of seeds for a particular season; amounts of fertilizer, pesticide and water; proper spacing of seedlings; and, right timing for harvesting.

The new farming technique is deemed as one of the best farm technology and management practices.

DAR Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes and DA Secretary Proceso J. Alcala complementing their alliance, forged with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje, have worked together for the benefit of the farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with Alcala promising them some ways to facilitate farming procedures.

DAR in partnership with DA recently conducted a training program dubbed, “Rice Productivity Enhancement Training on Palay Check System” in Cabucgayan, Biliran in which Biliran Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Ismael Aya-ay in coordination with DA farm coordinators and technicians taught them this new farming technique.

Rice farmers here got the biggest surprise of their lives when a hectare demo farm yielded 178 sacks of palay with no extraordinary efforts but by merely following the technique.

Roger Ayuste, chairman of Balaquid (in Biliran) Agrarian Reform Cooperative (BARECO), said he and his fellow farmers were all upbeat after the initial success of the farm demonstration.

Ayuste said he expects the new-found formula to help the country attain self-sufficiency in rice if it is replicated all over the country. And he has all reasons to be that confident, considering that he and his fellow farmers were already content to harvest 80 sacks of palay per hectare before the formula was introduced to them early this year.

Ayuste and his 15 fellow farmer-trainees thanked Aya-ay and the agriculture department for sharing to them the new farming technique.

Aya-ay said he found the new formula encouraging so that he convinced the DA to include it among the activities that were introduced to the farmer-beneficiaries.

“I’m glad it pays of,” said Aya-ay, who was the provincial agrarian reform support services officer at the time the technique was introduced to interested farmers.

Agriculture development facilitator Thelma Alba, agriculture and agribusiness development coordinator Joy Sandigan and agriculture technician Elizabeth Gayrama, who together supervised the whole operations, said they were only expecting an increase of up to 120 sacks of palay.

“The result was far beyond our imagination,” Alba said.

The training serves BARECO well as it has been tapped as a community seed banking for certified seeds.

Ayuste said the new formula was a big departure from the old practices they were accustomed to – using the same seeds over and over again during planting season, applying fertilizers and pesticides indiscriminately and letting water flow freely in the ricefield.

Before the training, Ayuste said he used to apply 40 kilos of seeds in half a hectare farm and plant the seedlings too close to one another thinking that the more seedlings he planted the more yield he would get.

Ayuste found out after the training that half-a-hectare of ricefield needs only 20 kilos of seeds and that proper spacing should be observed when planting the seedlings to enable them to produce more.

He added that he used to apply 12 bags of commercial fertilizer each amounting P1,300, in a hectare farm and sprayed pesticides indiscriminately, where what he actually needs are five bags of fertilizer, mixed with six bags of the less expensive organic fertilizer that is pegged at P420 a bag. The amount of pesticide used was also reduced significantly.

“The new practice is very encouraging. It helps reduce production cost by half,” Ayuste said. by: [(PNA)FPV/MAGI]

Source: New farming technique helps PHL regain rice exporting status