ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting a combined harvest of 3,250 to 4,000 metric tons of palay from 500 hectares of hybrid rice model farms established across 10 municipalities in Iloilo and Antique this wet cropping season.
Under its Scalable Hybrid Rice Model Farm Establishment Project, the DA allocated 50 hectares of irrigated farmland in each participating municipality and planted these areas with one or two hybrid rice varieties registered with the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).
The agency is aiming for yields ranging from 6.5 to eight metric tons per hectare in the model farm clusters.
Five participating municipalities are in Antique – Culasi, Hamtic, Patnongon, San Jose, and Sibalom – while the other five are in Iloilo – Ajuy, Concepcion, Igbaras, Pavia, and Zarraga.
The DA divided the project sites equally between the two provinces to ensure closer monitoring of crop management and maximize hybrid rice production through recommended technologies and interventions.
These include the PalayCheck System, Adaptive Balanced Fertilization, laboratory-based soil analysis, and Integrated Pest Management.
NSIC-registered hybrid rice varieties are government-approved, high-yielding crops developed for vigor, pest resistance, and adaptability to local growing conditions. They undergo rigorous National Cooperative Test evaluations before being approved for commercial production.
Among the project sites is a demonstration farm in Barangay Pagsangaan, Pavia, which was recently inspected by DA Rice Industry Development Program technical consultants Dr. Andrew Villacorta and Dr. Frisco Malabanan.
The inspection sought to assess the project’s implementation and provide farmers with technical guidance.
Malabanan urged farmers to use modern agricultural technologies, particularly hybrid rice varieties suited to conditions in their communities.
“Gumamit din po kayo ng makabagong teknolohiya lalong-lalo na po itong hybrid rice variety pero sa pagpili po ng variety, dapat i-consider po ninyo ‘yung performance ng variety sa inyong lugar. Kung ano ang magandang variety dito sa lugar, ‘yun ang inyong i-tanim para more or less masigurado na maganda ang inyo performance pag kayo ang nagtanim,” Malabanan said.
He said farmers should also consider the planting season and determine which rice varieties perform best during that period.
Once they have selected a suitable variety, farmers may coordinate with their local government unit or the DA to request seedlings.
Malabanan also stressed the importance of applying fertilizer at the proper time and in quantities based on soil-analysis results.
“Dapat i-consider natin ang recommended na time of application. Hindi po basta naglalagay ng abono kung kailan ninyo gusto o kung magkapera lang kayo kasi kailangan gamitin po natin yong tama panahon para maganda ang epekto ng abono sa inyong tanim na magbibigay ng mas magadang ani,” he added./PN
