The Philippines is targeting to have one million hectares planted to hybrid rice by 2007, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said.

In the International Rice Forum held at the Philippine Trade and Training Center, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the target is expected to yield six million metric tons (MT) of palay at an estimated seed budget of P1.2 billion.

"For this crop year, the DA is looking at 200,500 hectares of hybrid-rice lands which will be expanded to 250,000 hectares in the May to October season next year, and 350,000 hectares in the November 2005 to April 2006 season," Yap said.

The Philippines is fourth, following China, India and Vietnam, in hybrid-rice production.

"At present, 500,000 hectares are planted to hybrid rice, which is seen to widen next year to 530,000 hectares with an average yield of 6MT to 6.2MT per hectare.

The DA's rice program aims to further expand rice hectarage by 1.2 million hectares every year."

The Philippine agriculture sector grew by 6.8 percent in the first three quarter s of the year, grossing P588 billion for farmers, buoyed up by the 7.2-percent growth in the crops sector, which comprised almost half of the total agricultural output for the period.

Palay production rose 14 percent, while corn output jumped by 22.5 percent.

Yap also said the department is now tapping industry groups, such as PhilConGrains, a group of rice millers and traders, to serve as credit intermediaries or conduits of farmers to modernize rice production and trading, with seed funding from the Land Bank of the Philippines.

We are also asking for the support of the local government units for counterpart subsidy in the expansion of the DA's certified seed program to include low land rain fed, saline-prone and cool-elevated areas," he added.

Meanwhile, crop diversification will be promoted through the "Palayamanan program," which will train farmers to plant short-maturing crops, such as vegetables, after rice, and in livelihood programs.

The official also announced that systems for the rice intensification-a rice-production technology being advocated by nongovernment organizations in small rice areas particularly organic rice for export-will also receive DA assistance.

He said a credit program to provide operating, marketing, expansion and infrastructure capital to rice millers, traders, wholesalers and input suppliers is in the wirks with the help of Landbank, Quedancor and the Agriculture Credit and Policy Council.

Yap added that he and his counterparts from Iran, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States have also agreed in principle on technology exchange to achieve food security and political stability in the Asian region.