Population growth seen offsetting production gains

ATTEMPTS to achieve rice self-suff iciency by 2020 may go to waste if the rapidly growing population is not controlled, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.

“We may achieve rice suff iciency by 2020 but it will be temporary and fleeting,” Mr. Piñol said in a Facebook post over the weekend.

“People have to understand that the 30-million hectare land area and the width of the seas within the country’s EEZ (exclusive economic zone) are finite. There will be a point in the life of this nation when the land and the seas will no longer be able to produce enough food for Filipinos,” he added.

Mr. Piñol said the situation requires measures to manage the population “not [as] an affront to religious dogma but part of the struggle for the survival of the nation.”

Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority noted that the country last year reached 95.01% self-suff iciency in rice. This was higher than the 88.93% level achieved in 2015.

“Policy reforms instituted by the Duterte administration like providing free irrigation, banning rice importation during peak harvest season, mechanization and easy access to credit contributed to the enthusiasm of farmers to produce more,” Mr. Piñol said.

Next year, the Department of Agriculture is set to “aggressively implement” a hybridization program, targeting 600,000 hectares more planted to hybrid rice. It will also seek to install solar and small irrigation projects, roll out a national mechanization program, and offer more financing to farmers.

“We will not stop at 95% because the Agriculture department is targeting 100% local production to supply the national requirement,” Mr. Piñol said.

The self-suff iciency target translates to a yield of about six metric tons per hectare.—