“Science shall shape policies and programs,” Bongbong Marcos defines his presidency and agriculture secretaryship. “Science provides us answers to the future.” That should inspire Filipino students who always flunk international Science, Math and Reading Comprehension tests. With Marcos as role model, youths can embrace technology, not partying.
Marcos cannot stray. Palay farming suffers from backward thinking and methods. Imported machinery and fertilizer drive up costs. Typhoons add to losses.
Visiting his mother’s Leyte home-province last month, Marcos could have dropped by the country’s most modern rice facility. Rachel and Patrick Renucci’s Chen Yi Agventures is in Alangalang town, in the congressional district of Marcos’ cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Renucci rice is the world’s third best. Four thousand farmers depend on the Renuccis’ ten harrower-harvester-thresher combines, five high-speed dryer-millers and five controlled-temp silos. They are taught tillering, natural fertilizing and marketing.
“We’re begging to be replicated countrywide,” Makati-born Rachel says. Congress recently made Frenchman Patrick a Filipino citizen. Within three years of their operations, Alangalang rose from fourth- to second-class municipality, now with hotels, a mall and Jollibee.
Marcos proceeded to Ormoc City fiesta, then inaugurated in Tacloban the new lights of San Juanico bridge to Samar. It was hyped as the “bridge of love”, a 1973 birthday gift of Marcos’ father president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to first lady Imelda Romualdez. He skipped Alangalang, a mere 15-minute chopper hop from either destination. Not even a short plant tour.
Rodante Marcoleta, among Marcos’ senatorial bets last May, ranted. San Juanico’s “aesthetic lighting” cost P80 million. Leyte-Samar agribusinesses reel from pricey electricity. “Half of Filipino families rate themselves poor due to burdensome electricity bills,” Marcoleta lamented, “yet we initiate this tourist attraction that would use loads of electricity.”
Rice is a political crop. Politicians worsen things meddling in rice policy.
Example is the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program. Congress clustered the 83 provinces into 15 each, then assigned what palay seedling variety to be given free to farmers. Disregarded were years of seed matching with soil and irrigation type. High-yield hybrids were limited to only 15 provinces. Depending on brands, inbred varieties were allocated to other clusters.
Lawmakers reasoned that hybrid seeds cost two-and-a-half times more than inbred. They ignored that hybrid harvest is three-and-a-half times more.
Ex-agriculture chief Manny Piñol discussed it after Senate committee chair Cynthia Villar nixed hybrid seeds. “Should a senator dictate what rice seeds to plant?” he posted on Facebook. “Mahal daw ang hybrid at P3,500 per bag compared to P1,200 per bag of inbred seeds or a savings of P2,300. Hindi nila naisip na kung aani ng ten tons ang hybrid at six tons ang inbred, sa presyong P14 per kilo, kikita ang hybrid farmer ng P140,000 samantalang ang nagtanim ng inbred ay kikita lamang ng P84,000.
“That’s a difference of P56,000. At hindi ito inabot ng inbred rice farmer dahil nagtipid sya ng P2,300. Ano ba ang objective ng Rice Program? Isn’t it to increase production?”
Hybrid costs more because of research and development, SL Agritech founder Henry Lim Bon Liong explained to GOTCHA. But farmers and government seed procurers actually get a bargain. Only 15 kilos of hybrid seeds are needed per hectare, compared to 40 kilos of inbred. Hybrids are spaced wider apart because of better tillering: stalks are more and thicker, leaves lusher and grains more abundant.
Henry’s rice is tasty, aromatic and clean. The Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry chairman gives away tens of thousands bucketfuls every year to poor families.
Henry produces four hybrid variants, suitable for irrigated, rain-fed, humid and cool fields. All are virus resistant. All can more than triple harvests, Nueva Ecija farmer Danilo Bolos said. Like industrious-scientific Japanese rice planters, he drives an SUV.
William Dar, immediate past agri boss, boosted palay yields and hectarage. In 2019 it was 18.81 million tons from 4.65 million hectares. In 2020, 19.4 million tons from 4.73 million hectares. In 2021, 19.96 million tons from 4.74 million hectares.
Dr. Frisco Malabanan attributed the feat to hybrid. He has computations and graphs to show for it, as Dar’s adviser on hybrid and Henry’s technical consultant.
A former undersecretary, Malabanan acknowledged the country has yet to achieve rice self-sufficiency. In 2005 government imported the 1.5-million ton shortage; imports rose to 1.8 million tons in 2010, 2 million tons in 2013, and now 3 million tons this 2022. If hybrid is introduced nationwide instead of limited to 15 provinces, rice harvest can finally catch up with demand, Malabanan said.
Marcos might want to study hybrid science for his rice policies.
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