LOS BAÑOS, Laguna - The ricefields of the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan will be developed to support the government’s hybrid rice production program. 

This is stipulated in a memorandum of agreement recently signed by Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under the Department of Justice and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). 

Signing the memorandum of agreement were BuCor director Ricardo Macala and PhilRice executive director Dr. Leocadio Sebastian. Witnesses were Andrew Blanca and Venjo Tesoro, both of BuCor, and PhilRice deputy executive director Ronilo Beronio and Raul Lara. 

PhilRice, which is under the Office of the President, is the government entity mandated to implement the National Hybrid Rice Program to improve the country’s rice supply through the production of hybrid rice seeds. Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. chairs the institute. 

Under the agreement, BuCor will assist PhilRice in producing the hybrid rice seeds needed for planting 200,000 hectares during the 2003-2004 cropping season throughout the country. 

BuCor will provide the land suitable for producing hybrid rice seeds in its Palawan penal farm, and will train inmates in all aspects of hybrid rice seed production. 

BuCor will also provide farm machinery for land preparation, harvesting, threshing, drying and other post-harvest operations, including facilities for stocking, processing and bagging of hybrid rice seeds. 

For its part, PhilRice will provide technical assistance and will train the Iwahig inmates and penal farm personnel involved in the joint venture in all aspects of hybrid rice seed production. 

PhilRice will purchase the hybrid rice seeds produced under the agreement that pass the certification standards of both the institute and the Bureau of Plant Industry-National Seed Quality Control Services.