Makalipas ang 30 taon, ang Pilipinas ay muling sisimulang magluwas ng bigas at ito’y uumpisahan sa Agosto sa taong ito.

Sinabi kamakailan ni Henry Lim, chairman at chief executive officer (CEO) ng SL Agritech Corp., na siya ay nakipagpirmahan na sa isang memorandum of agreement (MOA) kay Dr. Mukleur Rahman, chairman ng Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corp. para sa pagpapadala sa nasabing bansa ng inisyal na 200 metriko-toneladang binhi ng SL-8H hybrid rice variety.

“Ito ay masasabi kong ‘historical breakthrough’ dahil sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa loob ng mahigit 30 taon, tayo ngayon ay magpapadala o magluluwas ng bigas sa ibang bansa,” sabi ni Lim. Ayon sa kanya, ang 200 metric tons ay katumbas ng 10,000 sako na may timbang na 20 kilo bawa’t sako na pagtataniman sa 10,000 ektaryang lupa sa Bangladesh. Ang lugar na ito ay isa lamang sa maraming komunidad sa Bangladesh kung saan ay pinaninirahan ng mamamayan nilang dumaranas ng matinding kahirapan.

Ang Bangladesh, ayon Rahman, ay mayroong humigit kumulang na isang milyong ektaryang lupa na maaaring pagtaniman ng hybrid rice.. Sa inisyal nitong pagtatanim, 10,000 ektarya o 10 porsyento muna ang gagamitin.

Matatandaang ang Pilipinas ay nag-e-export ng bigas noong taong 1970s hindi lamang sa Bangladesh kundi gayun din sa ibang bansa sa Asya.

“Kailangang pursigihin natin dito sa ating bansa ang pagpapalaki ng ani ng hybrid rice at kung hindi, baka dumating ang araw na mabaliktad ang pangyayari — tayo ngayon ang nagluluwas ng bigas sa kanila at baka dumating ang araw na tayo na naman ang muling mag-aangkat sa kanila,” paalala ni Lim.

“Hindi kaila sa atin na ang karamihan sa mga agrikulturista ng Thailand, Vietnam at Malaysia ay dito sa University of the Philippines sa Los Banos, Laguna, nangagsipag-aral at nangagsipagtapos sa agrikultura at ang ‘irony’ nito ay sa mga bansang ito tayo ngayon umaangkat ng bigas,” dugtong pa ni Lim.

Ang mga nakasaksi sa nabanggit na pirmahan ng Memorandum of Agreement ay ang mga opisyales ng SL Agritech Corp. na sina Dr. Weijun Xu, vice-president for research and development; Joselyn Farnacio, VP, special asst. to the chairman and CEO; Cathy Galura, senior VP; and Jesus T. Tanchanco Sr.; Dr. Frisco Malabanan, project director, Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Rice Program of the Dept. of Agriculture; at mga opisyales ng Philexim na sina Virgilio Angelo, pangulo at CEO; Ma. Clarisa Tuazon, SVP for marketing group; Teresita Cameta, manager at Rowena Borja, account officer ng marketing group.

Ang parangal ay ginawa “dahil sa kanilang naitalang rekord sa pagtatanim ng hybrid rice sa kani-kanilang lalawigan.” Ang mga tumanggap ng parangal ay pinangungunahan nila Aida Badong (pang-apat mula sa kanan) ng Barangay San Nicolas, Baao, Camarines Sur na nakapagtala ng aning 344 cabanes sa bawa’t ektaryang tinaniman din niya ng nasabing uri ng palay.

Nasa larawan din (mula sa kaliwa) sina Director Frisco Malabanan ng GMA Rice Program ng Dept. of Agriculture; Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian, executive director ng Philippine Rice Research Institute (PHILRICE); Nueva Ecija Rep. Nelia Chavez; dating food Minister Jesus T. Tanchanco Sr. at si dating Agriculture Scretary Arthur Yap. ( Kuha ni Viktor Penas)

MANILA, Philippines – Is hybrid rice the answer to the country’s perennial cereal supply problem?

“Yes,” according to Henry Lim, chairman and chief executive officer of SL Agritech Corp., who said he is of the strong belief that the Philippines would achieve rice self-sufficiency in three years “if the government would aggressively push its hybrid rice propagation program.”

“That, I believe would spell the end to rice imports. It is lamentable to note that since 1985 and almost every year thereafter, we have been importing the cereal, spending billions of pesos.Think of it, we are subsidizing foreign farmers instead of our own farmers,” Lim said.

He said the Philippine economy would improve to a large degree if the living standards of the local farmers are raised.

He cited the government, through its Ginintuang Masaganang Ani hybrid rice program, “for continuing to provide assistance to our hybrid rice farmers in a more massive scale. Our country’s best option to become self-sufficient in rice is hybrid rice and its accompanying technology.

According to Lim, the government implemented the hybrid rice technology in a bid to cut down rice importation, create millions of jobs in the countryside and improve farmers’ income through higher yields.

He said in China, more than 60 percent of its rice lands are planted to hybrid rice. With over 1.3 billion people to feed, China is not only self-sufficient in rice but it has also enough for export.

The result of the Chinese effort was the development of hybrid rice which increased tremendously its rice production, invigorated its rural economy and shot up the living standards of its farmers.

He said the crowning glory he would like to achieve for the Philippines is the end of rice importation, the country’s achievement of rice self-sufficiency, and the consequent upliftment of the economic life of the Filipino farmers.

MANILA, Philippines – Five farmers in Occidental Mindoro who were adjudged top producers of hybrid rice in this year’s dry cropping season, received cash prizes and plaques of appreciation at simple rites held recently at the Calintaan municipal gym.

Ramil Jimenez of Poblacion, Calintaan, topped the “Search for hybrid rice highest yielder,” chalking up 258 cavans per hectare by planting the SL-8H hybrid rice variety.

The search was initiated jointly by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) headed by Romel Yngson and SL Agritech Corp. represented by Cathy Galura and Dr. Noel Mamicpic, senior vice president for operation and vice president for research, respectively.

Jimenez, who received P30,000 cash prize from SL Agritech, said his average harvest for planting the hybrid rice variety in the last two planting seasons was 230 cavans per hectare, way above his previous harvests of only 70-80 cavans.

Last year’s winner was Severino Payumo of Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, who harvested 345.6 cavans last year.

Placing second and third behind Jimenez were Michael Viduya of Pitogo, Rizal, and Edward Importante also of Poblacion, Calintaan, who turned in yields of 250 and 236 cavans per hectare, respectively.

They were trailed by Francisco Viduya, also of Pitogo, Rizal, with 230; and Rick Rodriguez of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Sablayan with 228 cavans per hectare.

In Oriental Mindoro, the first prize winner was Julio Jocson Sr. of Masipit, Calapan City, who went home with a prize of P30,000 for harvesting 203 cavans per hectare. Sergio Enriquez of Personas, Calapan City , went home with P20,000 for placing second with a harvest of 200 cavans per hectare.

MANILA, Philippines – SL Agritech Corp. is set to export sometime this year super hybrid rice seeds to Vietnam as part of its effort to accelerate growth in its rice production.

Henry Lim, SL Agritech chairman and CEO, sealed an agreement the other week with Dai Thanh Agritech Seed Co. whereby SL Agritech will initially ship sometime this year, 60 tons of SL-8H super hybrid rice seeds to the Vietnam agricultural firm.

“Under our agreement, Dai Thanh Agritech Seed Co., a firm engaged in crop seed trading and distribution, will distribute our hybrid seeds to Vietnam. Our initial shipment to that company will be 60 tons and this will be made sometime this year. The second shipment of 300 tons will be next year and a year after, we will ship 500 tons until they reach 2,000 tons,” Lim said.

It will be recalled that in the last two years, SL Agritech has made several shipments of its SL-8H super hybrid rice seeds to Indonesia and Bangladesh, “the Philippines thus becoming the third country next to China and India to export hybrid rice seeds to other countries,” Lim said.

He said it was more than 29 years ago when the Philippines first exported rice seeds to other countries. “Now, we rank number three after China and India as hybrid rice seeds exporter,” he said, adding that he considers this “as a big achievement not only for SL Agritech Corp. but for our country as well.”

Lim at the same time expressed optimism that “in the foreseeable future, our country will become self-sufficient in rice as more and more farmers are planting the high-yielding hybrid rice variety.

“It has been proven that farmers planting hybrid seeds will not only double or triple their harvest but will also dramatically increase their income compared to their production when they plant the traditional inbred seeds variety which is only about 75 to 80 cavans per hectare,” he said, as he urged the massive propagation of hybrid rice as part of the government’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency of the cereal.