Community hybrid rice farming in Siquijor to increase rice production

The Community Hybrid Rice Farming (CHRF) program of the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office 7 is expected to increase rice production in Siquijor.

Cecille Opada, CHRF focal said she is confident that the province will attain the increase as the entire province is clustered as one. The current data of the DA shows that the province’s yield is only 3.55 metric tons per hectare.

A national daily quoted the senior consultant of a hybrid rice producing company said that the average yield of hybrid rice is 6.07 metric tons per hectare or 33 percent higher than the average yield of inbred certified seeds.

Opada said that in 2021, 209.75 hectares were planted with rice out of 554.54 hectares. If the program targets utilizing the identified rice areas for hybrid, then Siquijor will experience a rice production breakthrough, Opada added.

According to Maria Chona Maleza, rice focal, the CHRF program allocates almost P1M for Siquijor for rice seeds and fertilizers. The program will also be equipping the farmers with skills and knowledge not only in rice production but in processing and trading as well, Maleza added.