Free academy for Filipino rice farmers
There are various challenges that are confronting rice farmers, not only in the Philippines but also in other riceproducing countries. Which could be the reason why the Philippines has always been a perennial importer of rice from Thailand and Vietnam. But even in the rice-exporting countries, numerous problems are also confronting the farmers.
This we have realized when we attended the Rice Future Forum 2015 in Ho Chi Minh City recently. The event was under the auspices of Bayer CropScience in cooperation with the International Rice Research Institute.
Contributing to the problems of the rice industry are high cost of production, aging farmers, migration of rural people to the urban centers, increasing labor cost, small landholding, water scarcity, poor extension service, low prices of harvest and so many others.
And that is the reason why not only the government but also players in the private sector are exerting great effort to meet the challenges. After all, challenges are also opportunities not only to serve but also to make a profit.
BAYER ACADEMY – One of the moves of Bayer CropScience, a multinational company that distributes hybrid seeds and which has developed new technologies in crop production, has come up with its Bayer Academy to at least answer the problem of extending improved technologies to the farmers.
Edward Limon who discussed the project at the forum explained that the academy is not located in one particular campus. It is a mobile school where the experts go to different communities in the country to conduct what may be called teach-ins on how the farmers can improve their production as well as their income.
The farmers are taught not just how to plant rice but how to make rice farming a business enterprise that makes money for the farmers. That means they are being taught to become entrepreneurs.
Of course, Bayer has many new things that the farmers can learn from the experts who do the training. One is the use of improved seeds such as the hybrids. There are varieties that may be more suitable under some circumstances. For instance, they have a hybrid seed that is early maturing and is therefore the right variety for farms where the availability of water is limited. They have the Habilis variety, for instance, that can be harvested in less than 100 days from planting. There are other varieties that are suitable both for dry and wet season planting, for rainfed as well as for irrigated conditions.
SEED COATING – Bayer also has seed-coating technology that saves money, time and labor for the farmers. The seeds, for instance, are coated with a product called Routine and a product called Gaucho. Routine protects the seedlings from insect pests from the very beginning. Thus, the farmer does not have to spray insecticide on his rice plants during the first few weeks.
The Gaucho, on the other hand, stimulates growth of the plant’s roots and at the same time protects the plants from diseases that often affect the rice plant in its early growth stage. With extensive development of the roots, the plant can take up more nutrients from the soil and can resist drought stress better.
MECHANIZAITON – To help solve the problem of labor shortage in the farm as a result of migration of the able-bodied persons from the rural areas to the city, the use of machines in various rice farming operations is also being advocated.
During the field trip to demo farms in Vietnam, we witnessed how a rice planter can plant one hectare in just two hours. That’s equivalent to what eight people can plant in one day.
Mechanical transplanters are now being introduced in the Philippines. Combine harvesters, on the other hand, are now a common equipment in some rice areas in the country, particularly in Isabela and Central Luzon.
OTHER CROPS – Many new things will be tackled by the Bayer Academy. One of them will be teaching mango farmers how to make their operations more profitable. The farmers will also be taught how to produce other income sources such as vegetables.
**** **** **** AANI AGRI-BAZAAR – Visit the AANI Agri-Bazaar cum Agri-Kapihan at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon starting tomorrow, October 23-25. Fresh farm produce and inputs will be available, plus lectures. It’s open free to the public.