An agriculture input company has declared the country can feed an additional 50 million Filipinos by 2040 if it cultivates high-yielding rice varieties that need less water to thrive.

Jose Valmayor of Syngenta Philipines told farmers and officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) that he challenge posed by an expanding population can be met comprehensively by using these varieties and applying crop protection products that ensure higher recovery of grains but with less carbon footprint.

"How can we feed a growing population, while maintaining a healthy environment that is fit for our children and their children after them?" Valmayor asked.

"The Philippine government is very cognizant of this challenge and has therefore made food security and rural development as one of its enduring goals. And what better place to start than with rice — the staple of most Filipinos and provider of over half the calories in an average Filipino's diet and the most widely grown crop. Rice has been the focus of productivity efforts since the 1960s and much progress had been made," he said.

Valmayor said many farmers have rued the fact that the country is now the world's biggest rice importer.

"Indeed for a time, the Philippines did not have to import rice. However with a rapidly growing population, new sources of productivity need to be found," he added.

"The National Statistical Office estimates from their 2000 census, by 2040 there will be another 50 million Filipinos. In 30 short years, our population will increase by almost 50 percent to 140 million.

That is 50 million more mouths to feed, with probably less agricultural land, and with more competition from urban dwellers for freshwater," Valmayor said.