The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) is distributing hybrid seeds under a contract farming scheme to help farmers here reduce agricultural inputs as they gear up for the third cropping season amid the El Niño phenomenon.

In Dingras town, members of the San Marcelino Irrigators Association recently received a total of 935 bags of hybrid seeds as part of the government intervention to help farmers boost their income while ensuring food sufficiency and security.

“We are lucky that we have continuous water delivery from the National Irrigation Administration even with the prolonged drought,” rice farmer-beneficiary from Dingras, Rogelio Ceredon, said on Wednesday.

About 901 hectares of irrigated rice land covering Bonga Pump 1, 2, and 3 Irrigators Associations and the Madongan River Irrigation System Irrigators Associations were tapped to enter into a contract farming scheme under NIA’s rice farming support program, which is being implemented in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), local government units (LGUs), and irrigators associations.

The program equips farmers with modern irrigation technologies to boost crop yields and raise the general productivity of rice cultivation.

NIA 1 (Ilocos Region) manager Danilo V. Gomez said the distribution of such farm inputs as hybrid seeds, fertilizers, and farm equipment is ongoing.

To increase profit, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said farmers need to capture the whole value chain of rice production by engaging not just as farm producers but also as entrepreneurs.

Under the contract farming program, Guillen said, farmers could secure income even with rice being purchased at a farmgate price of at least PHP20 as the cost of production only ranges from PHP13.90 per kg. to PHP14.20 per kg. (PNA)