LUNA, Apayao – Rice farmers from the province were again introduced to the benefits of quality seeds, inorganic fertilizers, soil ameliorant, and biofertilizers through the Farmers Field Day under the Provincial Rice Technology Forum (PRTF) for 2025 at Luna, Apayao by the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) on April 8, 2025
This activity is in collaboration with the provincial and municipal local government units of Apayao together with leading hybrid seeds and chemical companies.
In his message read by DA-CAR Rice Focal Person Edwin Joseph Franco, Fertilizer and Pesticides Executive Director Glenn DC. Estrada reiterated that the activity is primarily meant for the continuous convention of primary agricultural stakeholders. It further aims to immerse them in new approaches to delivering production support assistance to rice farmers in the region under the Intervention Monitoring Card (IMC) modality and clustering approach.
“This collaboration between DA-CAR, the local government units, and the hybrid seeds and chemical companies shows the combined efforts in supporting the agriculture sector aside from the efforts of the farmers to undergo IMC. This initiative will allow the agricultural products from Apayao, aside from sharing the stories of the farmers of Apayao,” the message read.
Under the IMC modality, suppliers can market their seed and fertilizer products through partner merchants, who engage directly with farmers as end-users, ensuring a unified price for hybrid seeds, inorganic and organic fertilizers, and soil ameliorants.
Said modality streamlines the distribution process, aside from facilitating potential expansion into insurance and loan payments for farmers. Rice clustering will focus on the collectivization of farmer cooperatives and associations (FCAs) to optimize the interventions and assistance provided by the DA and other government agencies.
Clustered FCAs will be provided with appropriate training and cutting-edge technologies, including farm inputs like seeds and fertilizers and farm equipment and machinery. In 2024, farmers from the provinces of Apayao and Kalinga pioneered the use of the IMC modality in the country, allowing them to select from a diverse range of hybrid rice varieties and fertilizers.
Through the forum, the farmers are provided with the opportunity to decide on specific varieties that would suit their farm environment, optimizing yield and minimizing production costs. Franco further explained that for this year’s forum, the farmers were introduced to 16 varieties composed of 10 biofertilizers, four ameliorants, and two inorganic fertilizers.
The farmers were also introduced to the drone project initiative of the DA providing them more opportunity to use efficient farming technology under the IMC modality.
“From the P435.88 million budget of the DA, P195.36 million will be provided in the province of Apayao which represents 46% of the total budget of the National Rice Program. PhilRice is set to distribute certified seeds worth P69.6 million, inorganic fertilizers worth P60.9 million, P20.8 million worth of biofertilizers, and P13.9 million worth of ameliorant,” Franco underscored. By JTLlanes
