ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas is urging more rice farmers to adopt the transplanting method of rice cultivation using mechanical transplanters, citing its significant impact on productivity and long-term sustainability compared to the traditional manual broadcasting of seeds.
Ryan Rasgo, chief of the Field Operations Division of DA Region 6, said that since 2024, the region has seen a gradual but promising increase in the number of farmers shifting to transplanting, made possible by DA-distributed mechanical equipment. These include transplanters, granule applicators, and hand tractors provided to farmers’ cooperatives, associations, and local government units (LGUs).
“This shift marks a major transformation in rice farming practices in the region,” Rasgo said during DA-6’s ‘Kadalag-an sa Agrikultura’ program. “Farmers who use transplanting techniques, particularly with mechanized equipment, achieve better growth and maximize the yield potential of their chosen rice varieties.”
He emphasized that transplanted rice tends to have stronger root systems and more uniform growth, translating to higher yields compared to rice grown from broadcasted seeds. Hybrid rice varieties planted through this method can produce up to six metric tons per hectare, while inbred or certified seeds yield around five metric tons per hectare.
DA-6 information officer James Earl Ogatis backed the call for mechanization, pointing out that farm machinery has become crucial to addressing labor shortages during peak planting seasons. “Without these machines, farmers would struggle to establish crops on time, especially when planting simultaneously during the wet season,” Ogatis said.
According to DA-6 data, over 400,000 farmers in Western Visayas are registered under the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBA), with more than half already preparing their lands for the ongoing wet cropping season.
Western Visayas has a total of 322,000 hectares of farmland, with Negros Occidental and Iloilo as its top producers. Iloilo, in particular, is seen as the region’s key contributor to rice production, capable of generating up to one million metric tons annually under favorable conditions.
To support the planting season, DA-6 has already distributed hybrid seeds for 55,000 hectares and inbred seeds for 200,000 hectares. With no El Niño or La Niña forecast in the second quarter, agriculture officials are optimistic that the wet cropping season will yield strong results — provided farmers follow the agency’s technical guidance and adopt new technologies./PN
