MANILA, Philippines — National Scientist Dr. Gelia T. Castillo has urged Mindanao farmers to take the lead in raising palay output by using the best rice varieties produced by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice.)

Castillo made the pitch during the recent Farmers’ Field Day and Forum held at PhilRice Agusan in Basilisa, Remedios T. Romualdez, Agusan del Norte.

Nearly 1,000 farmers, students, representatives of local government units (LGUs) from Regions 10, 11 and 13 attended the activity.

She said “farmers have a huge role to play in producing more rice to feed the ballooning population."

Castillo noted that Caraga region "has slightly higher per capita rice availability (129 kilos) than the national average (119 kilos)”

“The challenge now is how to increase rice productivity so the region can contribute to Philippine rice self-sufficiency,” she said.

All told, she stressed, 27 percent of the country’s population live in 26 marginal provinces while 17 percent are in non-rice producing cities in the National Capital Region (NCR) while 16 percent are in non-rice producing provinces.

To feed this population is a big task, Castillo told the farmers, and attaining rice self-sufficiency by 2013 is even more daunting.

Also a member of the PhilRice board of trustees, Castillo explained that the burden of producing more lies on farmers and their children who have shown the eagerness to learn more in raising palay output.

PhilRice executive director Eufemio T. Rasco Jr. assured farmers that the institute will intensify rice research and development (R&D) efforts in Mindanao since some of the country’s poorest farmers are in the region.

In Northern Mindanao and in the Davao and Caraga regions, all of which are covered by PhilRice Agusan, wet and very wet climatic conditions limit the farmers in attaining high yield.

To help farmers attain high yield, PhilRice developed varieties like NSIC Rc160, a strain with an average yield of about 6 metric tons per hectare.

This variety, with a maximum yield of 8 MT per hectare, is preferred by farmers owing to its good eating quality and high yield.

NSIC Rc160 is also good for ratooning or letting the rice plant produce new tillers after harvesting the crop.

“It feels great learning that farmers like the variety we bred at PhilRice,” said Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado, PhilRice deputy executive director for research.

Regalado also announced that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will train farmers’ associations on seed production to improve their capability in producing their own high-quality seeds.