The Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 3 (RFO3) here is intensifying the implementation of its rice hybridization program in Central Luzon this year.

Officials of DA RFO3, together with representatives of different seed companies, held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to ensure the successful implementation of the rice hybridization program in the region.

“The meeting aims to expand and implement properly the hybridization program in Central Luzon and to keep focus on the delivery and distribution of hybrid seeds to the local farmers,” DA regional director Crispulo Bautista said in an official social media post.

Bautista encouraged the seed companies to conduct field demonstrations to showcase their different rice varieties and products.

“Magtulungan tayo. Mag-set kayo ng mga demo farm ninyo para ma-feature at ma-showcase ang inyong mga produkto sa mga iba’t ibang magsasaka sa rehiyon. Malaki ang pondong nakalaan para sa Rice Banner Program at ang 70 percent noon ay nasa hybrid seeds (Let’s help each other. Set up your demo farms to feature and showcase your products to different farmers in the region. There is a big budget that was set aside for rice banner program and 70 percent is in hybrid seeds),” he said.

Those who attended the meeting include representatives from seed companies Longping Tropical Rice Development Inc., SL Agritech Corporation, SeedWorks Philippines Inc., ALJAY Agro-Industrial Solutions Incorporated, Bayer Crop Science, Bioseed Research Philippines, Inc., Corteva Agriscience, and Syngenta.

The rice hybridization program is one of the strategies of DA to increase production through the provision of hybrid seeds adaptable in the region.

This year, some 285,000 bags were allotted for regular hybrid seeds while 50,000 bags were for seed reserves.

Bautista expressed optimism that through this undertaking with seed companies, the level of adoption of hybrid seeds by local farmers will improve.

“Through this collaborative effort, we hope we can improve implementation, especially at the ground level,” he said. (PNA)