TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Agriculture (DA) of the Cordillera Administrative Region conducted a consultative meeting with accredited hybrid seed producers of Kalinga, private seed companies, and representatives from the city and provincial local government units, PhilRice, and NSQCS for the Local Hybrid Rice Seed Productivity Policy.
The policy is a new administrative order from the DA which directs local hybrid seed production that would provide a venue for the local breeding of varieties suitable for the country’s agro-climatic conditions and produce hybrid seeds domestically.
Edwin Joseph Franco, regional hybrid seed focal, explained that about 90 to 95% of the hybrid seed interventions from the department’s Rice Resiliency Project I and II and seed reserve were imported and the demand for hybrid rice seeds is increasing.
The main objective of the policy is to develop an environment promoting local production of hybrid seeds and gradually increase the share of locally-produced seeds in the market until most of the hybrid rice seeds in the country are locally produced.
Franco elaborated that the region aims to have 300 hectares of hybrid rice seed production in the city to cater to the needs of the other provinces in the region for the next two years.
In the consultation, the different stakeholders were assured there would be different interventions for the local seed production such as investment incentives, area development, crop and credit insurance, and seed testing facilities.
The policy created an avenue for collaboration and networking of the private sectors and government towards strengthening the hybrid seed industry.
Furthermore, the seed producers, private companies, and the department were able to meet on common ground as to the operationalization of the policy. The different roles and responsibilities were also initially discussed. By JMDayao
