With a population of more than 82 million people and still growing, it is easy for the government to see the appeal of hybrid rice farming.

China, for instance, grows hybrid rice in about 50 percent of its 33 million hectares of rice farms; this accounts for 66 percent of the country’s total production and more than 20 percent of the world’s total rice supply.

Hybrid rice is produced by cross-pollination of two genetically advanced rice plants with superior qualities that are passed on to the seed and results in a phenomenon called "hybrid vigor" or "heterosis." The young seedlings produce long roots and broad leaves that enable them to absorb more nutrients, and thus, produce more grains.

The Philippines started its own hybrid rice program in 2001 with the aim of developing the local hybrid rice seed industry and promoting farmers’ adoption of hybrid rice. From 500 hectares then, the agriculture department is targeting 600,000 hectares for hybrid rice production for the crop year 2004-2005 ending April next year.

Low Adoption Rate

While there are pockets of rice farmers testifying to higher incomes due to higher yields, an independent study shows that the program still has a low adoption rate of four percent. The program is having a hard time taking off because of numerous debilitating factors, which is not helped by unfavorable policies.

Farmers who stuck to planting traditional rice varieties with lower yields say that the difference in yield between hybrid and inbred rice (including certified and traditional seed varieties) is too insignificant to offset the higher production costs as well as the lower price for hybrid rice. Aside from being expensive, the hybrid seeds cannot be used for replanting.

Moreover, hybrid seeds in the Philippines at this stage are also vulnerable to bacterial leaf blight during the wet season. Hybrid rice is also location-specific and can only achieve potential yields in ideal conditions such as dry weather. But then again, areas without good irrigation will not have a good yield.

Subsidy Distorts Production Costs

One major flaw of the program is the significant subsidy cost to the government. The Philippine Rice Research Institute buys hybrid rice seeds from selected suppliers at P2,400 for a 20-kilo bag, and distributes these to farmers at a subsidized price for only P1,200 per bag. Former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. even ordered a further price cut of 50 percent or P650 per bag to encourage more farmers to use hybrid rice seeds.

Thus, the reported high net incomes realized by farmers from planting hybrid rice are actually based on subsidized costs and not on real costs. The question is how long this subsidy will remain at this level.

With this subsidized program, farmers naturally will prefer to buy from the Philrice at a subsidized cost rather than buy at real market prices from other private hybrid rice seeds suppliers or growers that are not supplying Philrice.

It is estimated that government spends P6,100 to produce and distribute 20-kilogram hybrid rice seeds compared to the private sector’s cost of only P3,400. How government can continue this practice in the midst of a lurking fiscal crisis is beyond comprehension.

The concern is that the present subsidy policy won’t make the program sustainable. It could go the way of the Masagana 99 program of the Marcos administration that started out great but ended miserably when government decided to withdraw subsidies. Then, we are back again to our reliance on rice imports to meet the country’s rice requirements.

Getting The Right Priorities

It is high time that government reassesses the hybrid rice program. There is still a lot of potential in going into hybrid rice planting. After all, China did it. But it seems clear at this point that using hybrid rice alone to push production won’t be sufficient to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency.

To address the issue of sustainability, instead of focusing on the marketing of hybrid rice seeds to farmers, Philrice should already be thinking of a phase-out plan for its subsidy program and starting to orient farmers to produce their own seeds.

At the same time, shouldn’t the agriculture department address the depressed and unstable prices of palay? It is easy to understand that farmers lack the motivation to increase productivity because they are not getting decent returns and margins on their crops. Similarly, if provided with adequate post harvest facilities and better transport infrastructure that will lower costs, farmers will be motivated to invest time and effort to adopt new technologies such as the hybrid seeds.

These steps would have longer-term benefits and sustainability rather than the "dole-out seed subsidy" program. As they say, it’s better to teach the farmer how and what to plant than give him the seeds. Or words to that effect.