The floods that inundated the country's agricultural heartland have proved the resiliency of one rice variety that Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala dubbed as “submarino."
The Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) said PSB Rc18-Sub1, a rice variety that is undergoing testing, remained resilient despite being submerged in water for several days after typhoon Quiel ravaged northern and central Luzon early this month.
'Submarine' rice survives floods, pests
Edwin de Jesus, a farmer who had been evaluating the rice line in a 378 sq2-plot since June in Victoria, Tarlac, said PSB Rc18-Sub1 did not turn brownish and was spared from pests and stunted growth despite being submerged in water that was 1.5-m deep .
The line also withstood the four-day flood caused by Typhoon Juaning last July. De Jesus said submergence did not also affect the grain’s density usually experienced by farmers’ popular varieties.
PSB Rc18, nicknamed "submarino" is a rice variety for irrigated lowland with an average yield of 5 tons per hectare.
It is is infused with submergence tolerance gene or Sub1 for the improved variety to survive, grow, and develop even after 2 weeks of being under water at a vegetative stage.
Developed by IRRI for flood-prone areas
The variety was developed by the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the University of California-Davis, which discovered the Sub1 gene from an Indian rice variety FR13A. Philrice released the variety for local testing in 2009.
Alcala, in a recent media interview, urged farmers to use the submarino variety during the wet cropping season in the second semester of the year to spare them from huge losses.
Typhoons usually cross the northern and central Luzon, where most of Metro Manila's rice and vegetables come from, during the rainy second half of the year.
“If you know that you are prone to flooding, then this is what you should plant. Don't gamble anymore," Alcala said.
1B MT of regular rice lost in Luzon floods
According to the DA, the recent typhoons that inundated crop lands in Luzon damaged nearly 1 billion metric tons of unmilled rice or palay.
In milled terms, rice lost to typhoons "Egay," "Falcon," "Juaning," "Mina," "Pedring," and "Quiel" have reached 586,544 MT.
Alcala said the growth of the palay and corn sector in the fourth quarter could be flat due to the typhoon damage in central and northern Luzon. In the first half of the year, the crops sector posted record-high growths.
He noted that they were banking on the harvests in Visayas and Mindanao to buoy the crops sector in the latter part of the year.
The losses from the storms cut by 9.13 percent of the total projected palay output of 9.88 million MT for July to December, data from the DA said.
Because of the losses, the DA might downgrade its fourth quarter projections, officials said.
About half of Metro Manila's rice supply comes from Luzon farmlands.
Quick turn-around program
To ensure that there will be no shortage of rice next year, the DA said it will undertake a quick turn-around (QTA) program and ratooning starting November to produce more palay (paddy rice) during the first quarter of 2012, and offset losses from the recent storms.
"Ratooning" is a technology where remaining stubble or rice stalks are allowed to re-generate tillers and grains, with the application of fertilizers (one bag of urea or complete fertilizers per hectare).
The practice is widely used in rice exporting countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia. Ratooned rice are ready for harvest after 45 days.
Alcala said the ratooning technique increases the number of croppings per season.
He said farmers in Central Luzon that practiced ratooning were able to plant rice thrice in one cropping season. It is also cost-effective to farmers as they do not have to till the land or buy new seeds.
Widespread ratooning
Alcala said he has ordered the DA regional field units and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to implement the QTA and the ratooning programs in as many areas as possible.
NIA Administrator Antonio Nangel said a minimum of 50,000 hectares in Luzon, served by the Pantabangan and Magat irrigation systems, will be placed under the QTA program from November this year to February next year.
For Visayas and Mindanao, national rice program coordinator Dante Delima said an initial 100,000 hectares of rain-fed farms are targeted for ratooning, where an average yield of 25 cavans per hectare is expected.
“This early, DA Western Visayas has committed 50,000 hectares to be ratooned this season," Delima said. He added that the DA will provide the necessary farm inputs like certified rice seeds to interested farmers.
“The second cropping season will be from April to July with an expected 50 percent output because of the expected rains, and the third cropping season will be from September to December, also with a 100 percent production output," De Lima noted.
NIA targets for 2012
The NIA has a budget of P24.7 billion for 2012. Nangel said they plan to irrigate a total of 250,000 hectares of agricultural land by 2013 to fulfill the Aquino government's goal of being self-sufficient in rice by that year.
“With our targeted cropping intensity of 150 percent, we expect 100 percent palay production for our irrigated areas of 250,000 hectares during the rainy season, and 60 percent or 150,000 hectares for the dry season, for a total harvested area of 400,000 hectares," Nangel said.
“Computed at a modest 4.5 tons or 90 cavans of rice produced per hectare, the irrigated areas could generate 1.8 million metric tons of rice, which is our contribution to the rice self-sufficiency program of the Aquino government," he added.
Self-sufficiency is achievable
Despite the reduced expected palay (paddy rice) harvest for the latter part of this year caused by typhoons Pedring and Quiel, Secretary Alcala said the country could still achieve its rice-self sufficiency targets in two years.
“The temporary setback has all the more strengthened our resolve to do more, and strongly pursue our interventions in the next two years," Alcala said.
The Philippines eyes to harvest about 17.3 million MT of rice for 2011. In 2012, the government wants rice production output to hit 19.2 million tons, and 21.12 million tons in 2013. — TJD
