PIA Press Release
2008/06/18
Feature: Masterlist of palay farmers vital to govt's rice self-sufficiency plan
by T. Villavert
Iloilo City (18 June) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) will soon be able to determine what particular intervention or productivity measures to apply when the compilation of the nationwide master list of rice clusters is completed.
According to Secretary Arthur Yap the master list which will include profiles of farmers, will also be used as databases showing information on the total number of rice farmers, total rice area planted per season and types of ecosystems. The palay farmers will be master-listed by agricultural technicians assigned in rice clusters.
The DA press report disclosed that the Rice Self-Sufficiency Plan crafted by the DA in tandem with agricultural experts, the country's governors, aims to attain 98% sufficiency for the country in the staple by 2010.
Secretary Yap said that local government units are expected to work with the DA on the "clustering approach" of grouping adjacent farms into clusters in their localities as a main strategy to better infuse production inputs and technological interventions to increase the productivity by their palay growers.
He said that the DA is eyeing around 19,000 rice clusters in 2009, with each cluster covering at least 50 hectares, and will bring this down to 9,000 clusters in 2010 by expanding each cluster into at least 100 hectares.
Yap explained that under the clustering approach, the current productivity situation and resource profile of the cluster areas will be the basis in identifying the needed DA intervention measures which will be grouped into four major components. These are: production, technology development, information and extension support; infrastructure development and maintenance; market and credit assistance; and regulatory and program management.
The Rice Self Sufficiency Plan for 2008-2010 being pursued by the DA jointly with the International Rice Research Institute, is similar to past intensified rice production programs because it will focus also on irrigation, technology, extension services and credit support for our farmers, but it is different from past palay production programs in terms of scope, advances in current rice technology, funding commitment and management approach, the DA press report disclosed. (PIA)
