Farmers in WV urged to use certified seeds
The Department of Agriculture 6 is campaigning for the use of certified palay seed among farmers in Western Visayas to increase rice production next year.
DA 6 Information Officer Juvy Gaton said certified palay seeds had been proven to double the harvest of rice farmers in the region since it was introduced by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
Mariano Suarnaba, a farmer from Brgy. Agtabo, Passi City, said that his rice harvest for the last season had tripled after using certified palay seeds.
He boasted that he harvested some 120 sacks of rice from using just two sacks of certified seeds in his rice fields.
He said that he only used minimal amount of fertilizers and followed the organic farming strategies that DA had been promoting through the Municipal Agriculture Office of Passi City.
Suarnaba said that this was very encouraging compared to the low rice harvest he had in the past. He said that his harvest in the past was only around 70 sacks of rice, while using four sacks of non-certified palay seeds.
Suarnaba’s success experience was being used by the DA as model in urging some farmers in Passi City and nearby towns to shift to certified palay seeds in the next planting season, said Gaton.
Gaton also said that using certified seeds would help farmers in the region increase their rice production and help the region attain its production goal.
DA Regional Executive Director Larry Nacionales said that the rice production of the region was able to keep up demands due to the use of certified seeds. He also said that certified palay seeds were also high resistant to pest and diseases, which eased production loses due to climate change and infestations.
Iloilo province has a total of 127,211 hectares of lowland devoted to rice. It maintains 185 percent rice sufficiency last year. Western Visayas is the country’s second top rice producing region.*PNA
