CABANATUAN CITY – The farmers in Nueva Ecija who complained of “defective” hybrid rice seeds they planted could reimburse their expenses.
This was declared by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap in a radio interview. He, however, said, that he would look deeper into their problem and promised to help them aptly.
Farmer-leaders thanked him for his pronouncement. However, they said the response to the farmers’ complaint “must be just”.
“Salamat naman po sa pagkilos ni Sekretaryo Yap (We are thankful for the action and concern of Secretary Yap),” Trinidad Domingo, president of the10,000 strong Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), said.
Mario Imperio, president of the Guimba, Nueva Ecija chapter of the Bumalikat Farmers’ Group, also expressed appreciation for what he described as “encouraging words” of the secretary.
Both, however, said that what their members were expecting is the “right help and assistance to the affected farmers”.
Yap announced Saturday over DZRH that he is looking into the problems encountered by many Nueva Ecija farmers on their hybrid rice growing. He said the affected farmers should really be helped.
“Kailangang tulungan sila dahil kapag hindi sila tinulungan ay wala naman silang ibang mapagkukunan ng ikabubuhay (They should be really helped as they have no other means for their livelihood), Yap said.
He said that based on reports he received, the SL-8 hybrid seeds distributed to the farmers contained off-type seeds which exhibited poor growth and bore grains prematurely. He said, though, that the average 1.7 percent off-type seeds found are “already critical”.
“I will call on the technical teams to determine the real problem,” Yap said. “Sa mga magsasaka, kung kailangan talagang ma-reimburse, di tulungan natin (If there is really need to reimburse the farmers, let’s help them),” he added.
But Domingo and Imperio, in separate phone calls, said that the affected farmers should not only be reimbursed for the cost of the seeds but for their expenses in planting them.
“Sa land preparation pa lang, P3,500 na. Idagdag mo pa patanim, bayad sa binhi, pagpupunla, at pagpapabunot, at pataba, aabot na ng P13,000 para sa isang ektarya (For land preparation alone, the farmers’ expense per hectare is P3,500. Add to this the payment for transplanting, cost of seed, growing the seedlings and pulling them before transplanting, and the cost of fertilizer, it will amount to P13,000 per hectare),” said Domingo, who is from Barangay Polilio here and a farmer herself.
It could not be determined yet how many farmers in Nueva Ecija who planted SL-8 seeds had problems of stunted growth and maturing plants at 30 to 40 days. The hybrid rice plants have maturity days of 110 to 115 days.
Reports showed that some 42,000 bags of 20 kilograms each of this hybrid variety were distributed in the different towns and cities of Nueva Ecija.
Several farmers, perceiving that they will not realize a good harvest because of the poor performance of their crop, destroyed their plants. In Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija alone, more than 700 hectares of planted rice plants were destroyed, reports said.
When news about the standing hybrid rice crops broke out, three teams of representatives from the Regional Field Office of the DA in Region 3, provincial agricultural office, Philippine Rice Research Institute, SL-Agrictech Corporation, and municipal agricultural officers were formed and conducted investigation.
In their monitoring, they received complaints that the plants’ growth was stunted and that they flowered after just more than a month from planting.
This was declared by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap in a radio interview. He, however, said, that he would look deeper into their problem and promised to help them aptly.
Farmer-leaders thanked him for his pronouncement. However, they said the response to the farmers’ complaint “must be just”.
“Salamat naman po sa pagkilos ni Sekretaryo Yap (We are thankful for the action and concern of Secretary Yap),” Trinidad Domingo, president of the10,000 strong Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), said.
Mario Imperio, president of the Guimba, Nueva Ecija chapter of the Bumalikat Farmers’ Group, also expressed appreciation for what he described as “encouraging words” of the secretary.
Both, however, said that what their members were expecting is the “right help and assistance to the affected farmers”.
Yap announced Saturday over DZRH that he is looking into the problems encountered by many Nueva Ecija farmers on their hybrid rice growing. He said the affected farmers should really be helped.
“Kailangang tulungan sila dahil kapag hindi sila tinulungan ay wala naman silang ibang mapagkukunan ng ikabubuhay (They should be really helped as they have no other means for their livelihood), Yap said.
He said that based on reports he received, the SL-8 hybrid seeds distributed to the farmers contained off-type seeds which exhibited poor growth and bore grains prematurely. He said, though, that the average 1.7 percent off-type seeds found are “already critical”.
“I will call on the technical teams to determine the real problem,” Yap said. “Sa mga magsasaka, kung kailangan talagang ma-reimburse, di tulungan natin (If there is really need to reimburse the farmers, let’s help them),” he added.
But Domingo and Imperio, in separate phone calls, said that the affected farmers should not only be reimbursed for the cost of the seeds but for their expenses in planting them.
“Sa land preparation pa lang, P3,500 na. Idagdag mo pa patanim, bayad sa binhi, pagpupunla, at pagpapabunot, at pataba, aabot na ng P13,000 para sa isang ektarya (For land preparation alone, the farmers’ expense per hectare is P3,500. Add to this the payment for transplanting, cost of seed, growing the seedlings and pulling them before transplanting, and the cost of fertilizer, it will amount to P13,000 per hectare),” said Domingo, who is from Barangay Polilio here and a farmer herself.
It could not be determined yet how many farmers in Nueva Ecija who planted SL-8 seeds had problems of stunted growth and maturing plants at 30 to 40 days. The hybrid rice plants have maturity days of 110 to 115 days.
Reports showed that some 42,000 bags of 20 kilograms each of this hybrid variety were distributed in the different towns and cities of Nueva Ecija.
Several farmers, perceiving that they will not realize a good harvest because of the poor performance of their crop, destroyed their plants. In Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija alone, more than 700 hectares of planted rice plants were destroyed, reports said.
When news about the standing hybrid rice crops broke out, three teams of representatives from the Regional Field Office of the DA in Region 3, provincial agricultural office, Philippine Rice Research Institute, SL-Agrictech Corporation, and municipal agricultural officers were formed and conducted investigation.
In their monitoring, they received complaints that the plants’ growth was stunted and that they flowered after just more than a month from planting.
