By Ellalyn de Vera-Ruiz The Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing to plant rice over 2.7 million hectares in the next cropping season to help increase the country's rice sufficiency level to 93 percent by the end of the year. DA Secretary William Dar said the government's Plant, Plant, Plant Program aims to further improve our food adequacy levels through increased rice, food crops, livestock, poultry and fish production, including that of attaining efficient food processing, marketing and distribution to major consumption centers. (JJ Landingin / MANILA BULLETIN) In particular, under the Rice Resiliency Project, the DA aims to boost palay production by the end of 2020 to 22.12 million metric tons (MMT), equivalent to 13.51 MMT of rice or 93 percent of the country’s total rice demand at 14.46 MMT. "Right after the current dry season, we will urge farmers to plant more areas by providing them quality seeds, fertilizers, and appropriate technical assistance," Dar said. The Rice Resiliency Project will cover more areas this main cropping season, totaling 2.7 million hectares, broken down as: 1.2 million hectares under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to be planted to inbred rice; 550,000 hectares planted to hybrid; and 950,000 hectares to inbred rice. "We have been planting on 1.5 million hectares before, but we will now cover the remaining 1.2 hectares to cover 2.7 million hectares for commercial farming. With this, the country's level of rice sufficiency is projected to increase from 87 percent to 93 percent by the end of the year," Dar said. Several projects being pursue under the DA's Plant, Plant, Plant Program or the "Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS)" program, include increasing rice production to attain a sufficiency level from the current 87 percent to 93 percent; integrating livestock and corn resiliency project; corn for food project;, expanding small ruminants and poultry project; coconut-based diversification project; fisheries resiliency project; revitalizing urban agriculture and gulayan project; and upscaling Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita direct marketing program. A part of the program is the P8.5-billion Rice Resiliency Project that aims to expand production areas, improve yields, and ensure availability of rice in the country.