Fact-finding team to probe low-grade certified rice seeds
The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has created a fact-finding team to probe the distribution of low-grade certified rice seeds to farmer beneficiaries in the four towns of the province of Iloilo under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) project of the government.
DA Regional Seed Coordinator Edgar Baylon said a team composed of four was tasked to investigate the complaints of the farmers as regards the low germination rate of certified seeds provided by the West Visayas Multi-Purpose and Seeds Producer Association.
The fact-finding team is composed of Baylon as head; with members: Nemesio Argumento, head of the National Seed Quality Control Service, Ruperto Deysolong, agricultural program coordinator and Jose Fajarillo. The creation of the fact-finding team is in response to the office order of DA regional director Larry Nacionales.
The fact-finding team will determine the real reasons for the low germination rate of the subject rice seeds.
Baylon said two angles that would be looked into by the team are: whether the heavy and continuous rains affected the germination rate; or the rice seeds already have low germination rate before they were planted.
It was learned that DA and the West Visayas Multi-Purpose and Seeds Producer Association have already doubts about the germination rate of the certified rice seeds distributed to farmers as they requested for a laboratory test to check on the germination of the certified rice seeds.
The retest of rice seeds was made on April 23, 2008 on the old stocks. The result of the retest yielded positive. The germination rate was 85 percent and it was ready for distribution, said Baylon.
The farmers started to plant for the wet season from second week of May. The germination rate of the rice seeds probably dropped before the planting period, said Baylon.
The group went to the municipality of Dingle to validate the farmers' complaint. Initially, they found out that there is a low germination rate of certified rice seeds in the rice paddies. There are also rice seeds that germinated inside the sack of certified seeds that the farmers returned to the office of the Municipal Agriculture.
The team is also set to visit the towns of Alimodian, Dueñas and Sta. Barbara for further validation on the farmers complaint. Samples of alleged low quality rice seeds are stored in the town's respective municipal agriculture office, said Baylon.
Baylon said while the investigation is going on the equity of the farmers will be returned to them. The GMA certified rice seeds is a subsidy program of the government where farmer beneficiaries only pays portion of the total cost of the rice seeds.