MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. backed yesterday moves to develop rice varieties that could survive floods and drought.
The Nacionalista Party standard-bearer said he supports efforts of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) to boost rice production to enable Filipino farmers to be self-sufficient.
“We used to export rice to other countries, now we are the biggest importer of rice, he said.
“The government has been postponing the country’s rice self-sufficiency targets. We should stick to these targets and be rice self-sufficient soon.”
Villar said the next administration should support local farmers in using the new varieties of rice to increase their rice production for the country to avoid spending too much on rice importation.
“It is ironic that the Philippines is leading the discovery of these new rice varieties and yet so many Filipinos are still experiencing hunger because they cannot afford to buy rice,” he said.
Villar said the discovery of the new varieties of rice is very timely since the country is still reeling from the effects of the recent typhoons.
“We are all aware of the damage that ‘Pepeng’ and ‘Ondoy’ brought in Luzon, which is the country’s so-called ‘rice bowl,’” he said.
“The rice crops of farmers, who were supposed to harvest already, were destroyed.”
Villar urged the government to extend financial assistance and credit facility to farmers to help in their expenses, particularly in fertilizers.
Villar has filed Senate Bill 1897 that aims to end the monopoly in rice importation and to allow farmer cooperatives and organizations to handle these to increase their income.
Recently, the IRRI announced that the Philippines would be the first to try submergence-tolerant materials that will produce new rice hybrids such as “sub1 or submarine rice” that could withstand being submerged in floods for weeks.
There is also the so-called “aerobic rice” that can be planted in mountainous areas and does not need much water or irrigation.
It is estimated that Filipinos consume 11.9 million metric tons of rice every year.
Due to insufficient rice production, about two million metric tons of rice are imported from other countries.
The government spends an estimated P50 billion to import rice.
By Christina Mendez
The Philippine Star
Updated November 09, 2009 12:00 AM
Follow us on: