MAASIN CITY - The success of the rice intensification program of the provincial government here has made Southern Leyte the number one rice producer in Eastern Visayas.

The province has also been recognized by the Department of Agriculture as the region's best performer in commercialization of hybrid rice, according to DA regional director Leo Cañeda.

Using hybrid "higante" and "Tisoy" seeds planted in about 2,000 hectares, rice production of province almost doubled, form 70 cavans to 125 to 140 cavans per hectare, Cañeda said.

Southern Leyte's success in hybrid rice production made Eastern Visayas second only to Davao in the implementation of the program nationwide, Cañeda said.

He said Gov. Rosette Lerias has also been invited to share the best practice of the province to the Philippine Hybrid Rice Convention in Singapore and in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija.

Launched last year, the provincial government earmarked P 1 million for "Oplan 50 plus" or the rice intensification program. The amount was used to procure fertilizers that planters had to pay after the cropping season.

"We have to recover the cost for the sustainability of the program which the farmers can pay in goods. We should eliminate our culture of dole," said Lerias.

But many farmers were apprehensive because of the high cost of seeds. A cavan of hybrid rice seeds, which is good for one hectare, cost P 2,000 while in-breed rice only costs P120 per cavan.

To address this concern, Lerias urged the mayors and municipal agriculture officers in the province to intensify their campaign to explain to the farmers that advantages of adopting the new technology in rice production.