other crops FACED WITH INSUFFICIENT rice production and unmet rice supplyquotas, Compostela Valley is shifting to corn and indigenous rootcrops, and is introducing hybrid rice seeds to its uncontrollablydecreasing rice fields. What rice crisis? Low rice production has been a problem [here]for several decades already, provincial board member RogelioArambala said on Tuesday. But, he said, the public need not worrysince we have many alternatives to rice anyway. Weve been eatingcorn, bananas. Besides, he said, panic generated by the perceived rice shortagecould only be exploited by unscrupulous traders, triggeringincreases in rice prices. Provincial officials met recently with representatives from theDepartment of Trade and Industry, National Food Authority, and the11 municipal agriculture officers to evaluate the current status ofthe provinces rice supply. Dr. Rolando Simene, provincial agriculturist, said the shift fromrice to other crops, particularly bananas, in recent years hadcontributed to the drop in rice production. He cited data from theBureau of Agriculture Statistics showing that 3,581 hectares ofrice lands had been converted to banana plantations since 1989. To cover up [for] the loss of production due to farm conversion,and for us to be rice-sufficient, we need about 3,000well-irrigated farm lands, Simene said. Arambala said farmers could not be prevented from converting theirrice fields since it is their right to determine for themselveswhat type of crops to cultivate for them to earn. An ideal alternative in the midst of the perceived productionshortfall, therefore, would be the cultivation of cardava bananavariety and indigenous root crops, like cassava and camote, hesaid. I also encourage the mayors to push and prioritize the cultivationof corn, particularly white corn, in areas deemed as cornproducers. They can help the farmers by subsidizing substantialamounts from their coffers for the seeds, he said. Arambala is a former mayor of Laak, one of three towns with thesmallest areas devoted to rice farming in the province. Of the11,537 hectares of rice land in Compostela Valley, 9,647 hectaresare irrigated, BAS data reveal. Compostela town has the biggest area devoted to rice with 3,496hectares. Pantukan town has the smallest with 35 hectares in onebarangay, but it has one of the biggest areas of bananaplantations. Simene said full food sufficiency could be achieved if hybrid palayseeds were planted in about 7,000 hectares of existing rice lands.Yield could also be optimized if farmers used organic fertilizers,he said.Data from the provincial agriculturists office show that inbredpalay varieties produce at least some four tons per hectare, whilehybrid seeds can yield up to six tons.In Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay,however, farmers and some officials are against the planting ofhybrid rice to address the crisis.Hybrid rice kills our farmers in terms of fertilizer cost. It willdamage our soil. And hybrid rice is a one-shot deal & Besides, thecost of each bag of seeds is quite expensive compared to inbredrice seed, said Mayor Mary Ann Cartalla of Bayog, Zamboanga delSur. Bayog is the provinces main producer of rice. We can [use] the seeds of inbred for future planting season [whichwe cannot do with the hybrid] & We need to buy new seeds forplanting and God knows when because hybrid rice seed maintenancealters the acidity of our soil. That means we are altering theplanting and harvesting season calendar, Cartalla said. Panfilo Abiog, 58, a rice farmer in Buug town in Zamboanga Sibugay,said his farm was one of the governments showcase during theMarcos regimes Green Revolution and Masagana 99 campaigns, and Iregret such decision. Abiog was among the recipients of government subsidy forfertilizers and other farm inputs, and it took me almost a decadeto restore the fertility of my soil.Abiog said he planted inbred rice in two hectares of his land, and until now, my farm is productive.With a report from Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao
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