Govt rice program seeks P12B despite fund ceiling

Despite the P3.1-billion ceiling on its 2011 budget, the government’s rice program is seeking as much as P12 billion to stimulate productivity in 2011. “We’re seeking P12 billion but we’re told by the Budget Department that the ceiling for next year is just P3.1 billion. Nevertheless, we submitted our P12 billion proposal hoping that the new administration will consider our request," Frisco Malabanan, Rice Program director, said in a statement Sunday. The rice program needs at least P15 billion annually to achieve the country’s self-sufficiency target by 2013, Malabanan said. The administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved P9.4 billion for the rice sufficiency program last year. It allotted P3.1 billion for the program this year. Part of the proposed 2011 budget for the program is a P500- million component to expand the hybrid rice project to 500,000 hectares. Farmers enrolled in the project get a P1,000 subsidy per hectare. The program, which was supposed to have expired last year, was extended until 2010 to support hybrid rice farmers. “Should the new government approve our proposal, we estimated as much as P9.4 billion that may be saved from importing rice once we realize an incremental output of 376,928 metric tons next year thru the utilization of hybrid rice seeds," Malabanan said. Under the hybrid commercial program, the government needs to increase the land planted to hybrid rice to 505,623 hectares to produce as much 2.66 million MT. Based on the Rice Master Plan, the government expects production to reach sufficiency status by 2013, with production amounting to 21.61 million MT. Malabanan and his advisers will propose to the incoming administration of President-elect Benigno Aquino III to continue supporting the Hybrid Rice Program, mechanization of farming techniques including post harvest processes, rehabilitation of irrigation systems, and upgrading of antiquated rice mills. —VS, GMANews.TV