IRRI exec labels 2013 rice target as ambitious

An official of Los Baños, Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) expressed his reservations on Monday about the Aquino administration's goal to be rice self-sufficient by 2013, citing the unpredictable climate, among other things. “Self-sufficiency by 2013 is probably somewhat ambitious," IRRI deputy director-general Dr. Achim Dobermann said at the sidelines of the 24th anniversary of the Agriculture Training Institute in Quezon City. “If the weather is good and we don’t have major flooding, no new El Niño, then maybe it is possible." In an interview with GMANews.TV, Dobermann said he does not discount that the government might achieve its target, but explained it should factor in other circumstances, like climactic extremes and increases in rice consumption. “Will the time be enough to complete all these?" asked the soil scientist and agronomist, referring to the target for 2013. “Nobody can tell." Long-term, sustainable plans Dobermann stressed the need for a more long-term plan that will develop research, infrastructure, and human resources. He added efforts must also be sustainable. “You can plan, you can implement a lot, but you must make sure it continues," he said. The IRRI official said a 1.5- to 2-percent annual increase in crop yields — above the global rate of 1 percent a year – would be the more realistic objective. In a revision of its rice self-sufficiency blueprint in November last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) predicted a growth of 7.4 percent, 9.2 percent, and 5.8 percent, respectively, for 2010 to 2011, 2011 to 2012, and 2012 to 2013. Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, meanwhile, remained bullish about the government targets. Government has already factored in climate change to its rice self-sufficiency target, Alcala said. Aside from measures to improve irrigation, training, and post-harvest facilities, he said the DA has also partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to repair and protect watershed areas. Target doubted in the past The DA’s self-sufficiency targets had been lowered or doubted several times in the past. Due to the damage caused by last year’s typhoons, the DA in November lowered its projection by 2.8 percent, to 17.4 million metric tons (MT) from 17.9 million MT In April 2010 — into the last stretch of the Arroyo administration — reports said DA officials had considered revisiting its rice self-sufficiency target because of the destruction caused by the El Niño phenomenon, a prolonged dry spell that devastated the agriculture sector. University of the Philippines economist Arsenio Balisacan had then been quoted as saying the government needs to revisit its target. “That is no longer realistic. Philippine population [and consumption] are rising at a faster rate than the country’s rice production," Balisacan said. "The projection of 5 percent growth every year for palay production lies on a lot of things. But the problem is we never have the advantage of having both the investment and good weather," Leonardo Gonzales, president of an agribusiness policy research group, at that time said. The 2013 target was the result of the Arroyo government’s abandonment of an earlier target to be rice self-sufficient by 2010. "We wanted to attain 100 percent rice self-sufficiency by 2010 pero mukhang hindi na kaya (but it appears to be no longer doable) so we pushed it back to 2013," said Augusto Santos, then the acting director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority. Aquino administration’s assurances Alcala gave the assurance that the Aquino administration will accomplish things that the previous government did not. “[Dobermann] is thinking ito pa rin ang gobyerno na hindi kumikilos nang maayos, hindi kumakausap sa magsasaka (Dobermann is thinking this is still a government that does not perform its job well, that does not consult the farmers)," Alcala said in another interview with GMANews.TV on Monday. The secretary questioned Dobermann’s experience on the ground. “He is confined to the IRRI," Alcala said. “I think he is an expert but I don’t think he is traveling around." “I can assure you I have a fair amount of field experience," Dobermann replied when asked by GMANews.TV on the issue raised against him. — VS, GMANews.TV