DA expands farm demo sites in 4 La Union towns

By Hilda Austria 

MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The towns of Sudipen, Aringay, Bauang, and Tubao in La Union will serve as demonstration sites for the cropping season in November for the PalaySikatan under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed Program.
    In a statement Friday, the Department of Agriculture said the sites that will showcase the performance of rice varieties – NSIC Rc 510, Rc 508, Rc 480, Rc 160, Rc 402, Rc 222, and Rc 216 –will be managed by the Philippine Rice (PhilRice) Research Institute in Batac City, Ilocos Norte. 
    “These varieties are either national, regional recommendations, or newly-released. We hope that farmers can see for themselves which inbred varieties are best suited in their area. We also promote the use of certified seeds as it can increase rice yield by 10 percent," PhilRice Batac RCEF coordinator Bethzaida Catudan said. 
    Among the technologies to be showcased in the techno demo sites include machines for crop establishment and harvesting, and nutrient management practices such as the use of Minus-one-element Technique (MOET) in analyzing soil’s nutrient deficiencies and determining the appropriate fertilizers to apply.
    Catudan said the harvests of La Union farmer-cooperators who have completed their program engagement and with sufficient water irrigation during the cropping season significantly increased from 4.40 tons per hectare (t/ha) to 6.48t/ha in the wet season and 6.47t/ha in dry season.
    “With these promising results, we expect that the farmer-cooperators will continue to use the technologies they learned in the techno demo. They are also our partners in reaching out to more farmers,” Catudan added.
    Farmer-cooperator Glen Balanag from Aringay, in an interview, said he is willing to share with his fellow farmers the technologies and practices that he will learn from the PalaySikatan techno demo.
    "Willing po ako na magpaliwanag sa mga kasamahan kong farmers ng kabutihan ng mga benepisyo ng mga bagong teknolohiya at mga bagong variety ng palay para matuto kaming lahat (I'm willing to explain to my fellow farmers the benefits of new technologies and rice varieties for us all to learn),” he said.
    The RCEF Seed Program is a component of Republic Act 11203 or Rice Tariffication Law, which allocates PHP3 billion in funds every year to develop, propagate, and promote high-quality inbred rice seeds to help improve the competitiveness of Filipino rice farmers. -- PNA
 
 
 
 
 
SOLAR FARM. Solar farms such as this in Barangay Suyo, Dingras, Ilocos Norte are scattered in various parts of Ilocos Norte. This makes the province a renewable energy capital in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. (File photo by Leilanie G. Adriano)