Rice farmers enjoy higher production

BALBALAN, Kalinga — Palay harvest here increased yield by an average of 22.18 percent after a six- month test on demonstration fields whose farmers had undergone training for enhanced rice productivity under the Agri-Pinoy program.

Rice experts conducted the training pursuant to the Aquino administration’s desire to increase rice production and become rice self-sufficient by the year 2013.

The Palay Check Farmers Field School (Palay Check – FFS) under Agri-Pinoy program trained 180 farmers who successfully conducted six demonstration farms on traditional rice varieties that saw their production soar.

This will subsequently translate to better income and improved living conditions for the farmers’ families in the coming months, said Agricultural Technologist Anita Caldingon of the Balbalan Agricultural Services Office.

Caldingon reported that the technology worked as shown by results from demo farms established in Balbalasang, Talalang, Da-angan, Balantoy, Balbalan Proper, and Poblacion where production increased even without infusing huge capital input thereby resulting to low production cost and increased yield which means better income for the hundreds of traditional rice farmers in the different parts of the town located at the boundary of Kalinga and Abra.

Agriculturist Cris Valencio of the Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture, Cordillera Administrative Region validated the results and found it ‘impressive’ such that the demo was done on farms of poor soil chemistry, with soil deficiency and rice fields perennially of low harvest, thus, production could be much better once the farmers will be able to facilitate the improvement of the quality of soil in their farms which could further increase their yield in the coming cropping seasons.

Valencio, who directly assisted the project, greeted the 180 graduates during their graduation held recently at the municipal nursery saying “the technology transfer was successful and its adoption has to be sustained.” “Government is paying attention to your needs providing practical skills training such as the Palay Check – FFS,” he added.

Some 500 rice farmers in Tabuk earlier finished the farmer’s field course, boosting further the rice industry of the province which is helping it sustain its identity as the rice granary of the Cordillera being the only province having a substantial volume of rice production which is used to augment the rice supply in the nearby Cagayan Valley region.

Enrolled farmers enhanced their production capability through the palay-check technology they acquired from the six-month field school and that they same could be passed to other farmers or to their relatives in order to boost their respective rice production that will sustain the marketability of traditional rice varieties in both the international and local markets.

Under palay-check technology, every system in palay production is given equal attention to assure maximum level of produce for the benefit of sustained and improving productivity beneficial in boosting the income of farmers which will be used to gain momentum in improving their respective living conditions and helping eradicate poverty in the countryside. Any mishandling in one of the systems would produce adverse effect on the farmer’s target production.

The technology, according to its promoters, leads farmers to reduce chemical farming system adding more advantage to the environment at the same time cutting production cost.