Phl-Cambodia to work together for rice research

The Philippines and Cambodia are looking to work together to research on rice in a bid to boost rice production in both countries.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture(DA) said it recently met with officials of Cambodia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, who sought Philippine cooperation in learning new rice growing technologies.

At present, 70 percent of Cambodia’s rice lands are rain-fed while only 30 percent of their farmers use hybrid rice.

“While most Cambodian rice farmers could only plant once a year, Cambodia remains one of the major rice exporters in Asia, with the Philippines a major destination for its rice exports,” the DA said.

Cambodian Agriculture Secretary Ty Sokhun told Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol that his country particularly needs to learn alternative ways of developing new seed varieties as well as exchange knowledge on rice farming.

In response, Piñol said he intends to visit Cambodia in September to explore agricultural joint ventures and to learn more about Cambodian rice farming technologies.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary for operations and national deputy director of Rice and Corn Program Frederico Laciste Jr. said the Philippines is also looking for ways to ensure sufficient rice production in the country to meet the growing demand of Filipino consumers.

The DA’s rice production program aims to increase the annual yield per hectare of local rice farms by investing on hybrid rice propagation, in a bid to locally produce sufficient rice for the country’s needs, he added.

“The program envisions a competitive and climate resilient rice industry that can provide the requirement of the country at any given time,” Laciste said.