COTABATO City—The Department of Agriculture – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (DA-ARMMIARC) has introduced new inbred rice varieties to farmers in Maguindanao to help boost agricultural productivity.
The high yielding rice varieties, composed of NSIC Rc226, NSIC Rc214, NSIC Rc158, NSIC Rc160, and NSIC Rc222, were initially planted in a 20-hectare demonstration farm located in Barangay Kilangan in Pagalungan town.
Twenty farmer-cooperators in the area were awarded with one hectare of farmland each where they planted the rice varieties that been provided by the region’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF-ARMM).
Tong Abas, focal person for rice research and development of ARMMIARC, said the demo farm was an on-farm research on Participatory Technology Development (PTD) on the different inbred rice varieties.
He further said farmers can now yield up to 10, 000 tons of rice per hectare from the rice variety they provided compared to the one to two tons per hectare of yield for ordinary rice seedlings.
PTD is a farming approach where farmers are involved in every stage of technology development through active decision-making, which includes identifying their problems and choosing the right farming technology to increase their agricultural productivity.
Aside from these, the DAF-ARMM will also help the farmers by introducing “package of technologies” which consists of the latest and relevant technologies that will improve their production.
Abas said if the project is successful, it will be replicated in other farmlands in the region.
Barangay Kilangan was chosen by the agency as the demonstration farm of the project because of the presence of a suitable irrigation system in the area. The water source of farmlands in Pagalungan including Montawal in ARMM was provided by the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project.
The demo-farm project, which costs P2 million, was made possible through the partnership of the National Irrigation Authority, the Agricultural Training Institute and the different local government units. It will extend for one year. (bureau of public information/tengdatu)
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