The government has hit its target pf planting hybrid rice on 365,000 hectares this crop year, but this is obviously a far stretch from raising the country's rice sufficiency rate even if yield adds up to the targeted rice output.

A Department of Agriculture (DA) report indicated high-yielding hybrid rice has been planted on 176,000 hectares in the ongoing wet season (May to October) and 189,000 hectares in the dry (November 2004 to April 2005). The combined planting even slightly exceeded the 365,000 hectares target.

Barring any calamity up to the end of the year, the country may hit the targeted 14.75 million metric tons (MT) rice production, up slightly from 14.5 million MT the previous year.

"We see no reason why we can't meet the target," DA official said.

What is notable in the hybrid rice production data is the significant increase in yield in local government units (LGU) that have extended all-out support to the hybrid rice program.

Highest-yielder were Southern Leyte with a 7.04 MT per hectare yield and Occidental Mindoro, 7.12 MT per hectare. These are higher than average hybrid rice yield of 6.5 MT per hectare and more than double the 3.5 MT per hectare national average which includes inbred varieties.

"LGU support is crucial in hybrid rice propagation. With the support of Gov. (Rosette) Lerias of Southern Leyte and Gov. Sato of Occidental Mindoro, their provinces became the top producers in terms of yield across the country," he said.

Souther Leyte had provided a crop and input (fertilizer, pesticides) loan for its farmers' planting of hybrid rice. This is on top of the P 1,300 per hectare seed subsidy given by DA to hybrid rice farmers.

The hybrid rice area this year expands from only 230,000 hectares in 2004. Despite the growth, rice import which is 1.8 million MT this year is not expected to be substantially reduced as rice consumption also swells.