1-M hectare target for hybrid rice faces delay

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) may delay its 2017 plan to cultivate hybrid rice on one million hectares of farmland to next year amid lack of financial resources for the rice program.

Engineer Roy M. Abaya, Director at the DA’s Field Operations Service division, said that the agency initially estimates the cost of Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol’s hybrid rice project at P15 billion, factoring in the average cost of hybrid rice seed at P5,000 per bag, which is sufficient to plant one hectare.

The project is one of the main initiatives of the agency to attain rice self-suff iciency, which translates to 21.67 million metric tons (MT) in palay output by 2019.

Mr. Abaya said that the Operations division will propose that the implementation of the hybrid project be moved to next year as it will cost more than the DA’s rice program budget of P9-billion fund.

If one million hectares is the directive, it will be difficult, Mr. Abaya said, “because the decision is not just up to the secretary. There is also the GAA (General Appropriations Act). Congress has already identified where funds may be used,” Mr. Abaya added.

If Mr. Piñol intends to push for the project to commence this year, the agency will have to justify its request for realignment of funds from one allotment class to another which requires prior approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“We will need to justify a fund realignment with DBM. So that will be a process,” Mr. Abaya added.

For 2018, during which the rice output target is 20.34 million metric tons — an 8.70% jump from the 2017 target of 18.57 million MT, the government will need P21 billion.

“Again the issue is if we will be granted the funds. This is what the Secretary will fight for,” Mr. Abaya said.

Mr. Piñol earlier pushed for a P71 billion budget for this year, an expansion of some P17 billion from the 2016 budget. The request was not approved by President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s economic managers. —