Central Luzon Farmer s Acceptability and Adoption of Hybrid Rice Technology in their Rice Farming System

Transcription

1 USM R & D 20 (1) (2012) ISSN Central Luzon Farmer s Acceptability and Adoption of Hybrid Rice Technology in their Rice Farming System Elma S. Mananesa *, Richard D. Romanillos b, Ernesto I. Bumatay, PhD. c a Agricultural Technologist, Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Unit III, City of San Fernando, Pampanga * Corresponding author elmananes71876@yahoo.com b Science Research Specialist, Department of Agriculture-PhilRice Los Baños, Pili Drive, UPLB Campus, College, Laguna c Associate Professor, CPAf, UPLB, Los Baños, Laguna Abstract Hybrid rice technology became the key strategy for increasing rice production and achieving food security and rice self-sufficiency. It began with its inclusion in the government s rice production program in 1998 and the launching of a Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program (HRCP) in In achieving its goal, one of the strategies is to expand the commercial cultivation of hybrid rice in the fully irrigated areas. It has been demonstrated to increase the yield by an average of 15 to 30 percent over the best inbred varieties. The study was conducted basically to determine different factors and farmer s perceptions that affect the acceptability and adoption of hybrid rice technology in the rice farming system among the rice farmers of Central Luzon. It was conducted in three of the seven provinces in the region namely; Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Bataan. There were 60 respondents - 34 of them are adopters or hybrid rice producers and 26 are non-adopters or non-hybrid rice producers. The study found out that most of the rice farmers who were surveyed believed that hybrid rice technology can help them increase their yield thus increase their income. They either have the experience of using the technology or not. This shows that they already accepted the technology but some of them still do not adopt it due to the following reasons: (1) the high cost of hybrid seeds which in turn will increase production cost; (2) lack of sufficient knowledge regarding the proper management of the technology; and (3) the unsuitability of farm area for hybrid rice production due to lack of irrigation system during dry cropping season and flooding during wet cropping season. But despite these reasons, the non-adopters still consider to practice the technology in USM R&D JoURnal 97

2 their rice farming system if there is government subsidy for the production of hybrid rice. Keywords: acceptability, adoption, Hybrid rice technology, technology management Introduction Rice is the staple food in the Philippines as well as in many countries in the whole world especially in Asia. It is regarded as a strategic commodity and an important component of culture in many Asian countries. In fact, more than 90 percent of rice is produced and consumed in Asia thus the economic environment in Asia is dominated by rice. Currently, the world is experiencing a global food crisis, with shortage in rice supply and other agricultural products like wheat. This is probably because two-thirds (2/3) of the world population or approximately 4 billion people considers rice as essential to their daily diet. In the Philippines, Filipinos consume approximately about 33,000 tons of rice daily and it is believed that 80 percent of the total population or 68 million Filipinos spend almost one-fourth or 24 percent of their total income on rice alone. Rice is the most important and dominant commodity in the country thus, according to one of the rural sociologists, Gella T. Castillo, rice is life, politics and economics to the Filipino. Hybrid rice technology became the key strategy for increasing rice production and achieving food security and rice self-sufficiency. It begins with its inclusion in the government s rice production program in 1998 and the launching of a Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program (HRCP) in It became a major trust of the of the Philippine Government after President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo launched it as a flagship program in 2002 by giving the necessary political push and allocating sufficient funding. In achieving its goal, one of the strategies is to expand the commercial cultivation of hybrid rice in the fully irrigated areas. It has been demonstrated to increase the yield by an average of 15 to 30 percent over the best inbred varieties. Hybrid Rice is the only available genetic tool for increasing the yield potential of rice over the current high-yielding inbred varieties. The launching of the hybrid rice program in the Philippines was accompanied by a massive campaign utilizing television, radio, print media and the internet (Redoña and Gaspar, 2001). Various promotional materials were produced such as briefing kits, production leaflets/booklets, posters, print/broadcast media releases, tricycle banners, street billboards and car stickers. This study was conducted basically to determine different factors (socio-demographic and socioeconomic factors and perceived attributes) associated with the acceptability and adoption of hybrid rice technology in the rice farming system of the Central Luzon farmers. The study was conducted in the three provinces of Central Luzon namely the Province of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Bataan. 98 USM R&D JoURnal

3 There are many variables that can be considered to be associated with the acceptability and adoption of Hybrid Rice Technology in rice farming system. These socio-demographic and socioeconomic variables include the age, gender, number of years in farming, land tenure, educational attainment, income level and others. In addition, perceived attributions like the relative advantages and disadvantages and the technology management and practices may influence the farmers in accepting and adopting the said technology. What is Hybrid Rice? Hybrid Rice is the immediate product of a controlled crossing between a male sterile rice plant used as the female, and a normal, self-fertilizing plant used as the male. The crossing is controlled because it is assumed that both the female and the male plants used to produce the hybrid have been previously evaluated as being complementary or capable of successful cross-pollination and fertilization. Controlled crossing is also necessary to ensure the purity of the resulting hybrid rice seeds. With advancements in rice breeding in China, and inspired by the conceptualization and experience of new plant type breeding at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a national collaborative research programme on the breeding of super high-yielding rice ( super rice ) was established by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in The breeding strategy was to combine the formation of an ideal plant type with the exploitation of heterosis. Its implementation involved equal attention to three- and two-line hybrid rice, and to hybrid rice and conventional varieties. In addition to meeting grain quality and pest resistance requirements, a super rice variety should have a plant type that meets the yield target under favorable conditions. The super rice breeding programme in China has had two phases, and , and the yield targets were defined for each phase. A rice variety could be recognized as super rice if it meets the yield target in two pilot sites in two successive years, or if it meets the goal of yield advantage over the control variety in regional yield trials. As rice is a self-pollinated species, use of male sterility is essential for hybrid rice breeding and seed production. China initiated research on hybrid rice in 1964 and became the first country to produce hybrid rice commercially. Hybrid rice breeding has been based on using cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) or photo-thermo genetic male sterility (P-TGMS). A breeding system using three lines (a CMS line, and CMS maintainer and CMS restorer lines) was established in 1973, and commercial production of hybrid rice started in 1976 (Yuan, 1986). A two-line hybrid rice system using P-TGMS was established in the 1980s, and two-line hybrid rice was widely used by 1998 (Yuan and Tang, 1999). At the time of writing, hybrid rice occupies more than 50 percent of the total rice area in China. Wild-abortive CMS (CMS-WA) was the first type of male sterility used in hybrid rice breeding, and it has continued to be the main type of CMS used in terms of the number of hybrids developed USM R&D JoURnal 99

4 and the total area planted to those hybrids. The major hybrid rice combinations in China are derived from a few CMS and restorer lines, and these few widely used combinations have been grown for some time (Cheng, 2000;Cheng and Min, 2000). Why Hybrid Rice? Hybrid rice can improve farm yields. The attainable increment in grain yield from excellent hybrid over the best comparable inbred is at least 15% per hectare. This translates to about 750 kg of additional produce per 5,000 kg of rough rice harvest. Hybrid rice can increase production even with less land. In countries like the Philippines, where the natural endowment of arable land is limited and decreasing, a 15% increase in yield per unit area implies saving 15% of these arable lands for other agricultural production purposes. A more diversified and efficient agricultural land use can, therefore, be promoted with the adoption of hybrid rice. Hybrid rice can improve farmer s income and excellent hybrids offer higher income opportunities to rice farmers through hybrid rice commercialization production. Alternatively, additional income can be obtained through hybrid rice seed production (AxR). Problems and Constraints in the implementation of the Program In the Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program midterm assessment conducted by Philippine Rice Research Institute, many problems and constraints encountered by the stakeholders affect the implementation of the program. These are summarized as follows: Program Implementers: They were bothered with problems related to quality, supply and distribution of hybrid seeds, support funds for the incentives, technical assistance and subsidy. Acceptance of the farmers to the new technology was also considered. Seed Growers: They were bothered by the poor quality of parental lines since they consider that parental lines are susceptible to pest and diseases. Other problems include high cost of inputs, including labor and maintenance cost, weather and water availability and the inadequate experience with the new hybrid rice seed production technology. Farmers: They indicated the very poor quality of seeds, susceptibility to pest and diseases and sensitivity to weather conditions. They also mentioned that it is labor intensive and cost of seeds is high, therefore production cost is higher compared to that using inbred variety. Rice Traders: They indicated that it has low grain quality and milling recovery compared to some hybrid rice varieties. They also mentioned the difficulty in post harvest handling and consumer s lack of awareness to the Hybrid Rice Program thus, lack of marketing volume for hybrid rice. 100 USM R&D JoURnal

5 Background of the study Central Luzon is the heart of the Luzon Island which consists of seven provinces namely; Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. Three provinces were chosen as the sample area for the study; these are the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Bataan. The region is composed of 2,180, hectares land area with 32.69% or 712, hectares devoted for crop production. Rice is still the major crop comprising 467, hectares or 65.66% of the total crop production area. Majority of the rice areas (about 327, hectares) are irrigated. Next to rice are fruit trees (cashew, mango, guyabano) with 58, hectares, followed by plantation crops (coconut, sugarcane, banana, and coffee), vegetables and corn. The region s total agricultural land area comprises 25.6% of the region s total land area with Nueva Ecija having the largest number of farms in Central Luzon with a total of thousand farms. The province utilizes thousand hectares of land for agriculture, also the biggest among the provinces. Central Luzon s population posted an average growth rate of 2.68% based on actual survey by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on 1995, 2000 and Among the seven provinces, Bulacan ranked first with 29.08% of the regional population in 2007 followed by Pampanga with 22.90%, while the least populated was Aurora with only 1.93% share. Palay, which was grown in thousand hectares in thousand farms, was the major temporary and main priority crop in Central Luzon based on area and production data. However, the area devoted to this crop had decreased by 19.5%, from thousand hectares in Despite the agricultural rice land conversion issue in the Philippines, rice area in the region was increased by 8.07% in 2007, with a total production of 2,942,113 metric tons. Central Luzon contains the largest plains of the Philippines and produces most of the country s rice supply thus it is called the rice bowl of the Philippines. The Province of Nueva Ecija remained the largest producer of rice among the seven (7) provinces of the region. It accounted for 46.09% share in the rice production of the region in It is also the top rice producer in the Philippines and tagged as the rice granary of the Philippines with 8.16% share in the total rice production of the country and 45% share in the rice production in of the region. The provinces of Bulacan and Bataan shared 12% and 5% of the regional production of rice, respectively. The next major temporary crops were tubers, roots and bulbs covering 21.3 thousand hectares in 44.5 thousand farms. Other temporary crops dominant in the region were corn (18.5 thousand hectares), sugarcane (17.0 thousand hectares), and fruit bearing vegetables (10.8 thousand hectares). The Gross Value Added (GVA) in Agriculture and Fishery is continuously increasing for the last three (3) years at constant prices. Philippines GVA last 2007 was P249, 950,000 with a growth rate of 5.01%, which was higher compared to 2006 growth rate of 3.68%. On the other hand, Central Luzon s contribution to the country s GVA is 11.17% or an amount of P27, 918,000. A growth rate USM R&D JoURnal 101

6 of 6.54% was attained due to increased agricultural production and a better agriculture sector performance. Methodology The data collection of this study was through the use of survey questionnaire. The collection was administered by the rice coordinator of each sample municipality. Both open -ended and closed ended questionnaires were given to the farmers (both hybrid and non-hybrid users of the sample municipalities). The instrument was divided into three major parts: (1) the personal and socioeconomic profile of the respondents, (2) the perception of the hybrid rice adopters with regards to the relative advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid rice technology, farmer s perception on the technology management and practices; (3) and open-ended questions regarding their identified problems concerning the implementation and the adoption of innovations. The questionnaires were in Tagalog for easy understanding by the respondents, Tagalog being the local dialect of all the sample provinces. Stratified Random Sampling was used to divide the respondents into two groups; (1) the hybrid rice users as the adopters and (2) the non- hybrid rice users for the non-adopters. A total of 80 structured survey questionnaires were divided and distributed to the farmers- both hybrid users (40 questionnaires) and non-hybrid users (another 40 questionnaires). The data analysis was done using the SPSS Program to obtain the descriptive statistics specifically the frequencies, percentages, mean and the standard deviation and the range. Point Biserial Correlation Analysis of variables was also done to determine the relationships of variables in the adoptability of hybrid rice technology. T-test analysis was used to compare the two groups with regards to their income. Results and Discussion I. Demographic and Socio-Economic Profile a. Gender The respondents were composed of 90% male and 10% female. Among the 34 respondents who were adopters, 94% were male and the remaining 6% were female. Among the 26 non-adopter respondents, 85% were male and the remaining 15% were female. This means that farming is still dominated by male farmers. Based on the results of the Chi-Square Test at 5% percent level of significance, the gender of the respondents was not related to the decision of the farmers to adopt or not to adopt the hybrid rice technology in their rice farming system ( 2= 1.48; p= 0.22). b. Age The respondents were categorized into two age groups: the young to which the group lower than the average age belonged, and the old which was composed of respondents above the average age. Based on the results, the youngest respondent was 26 years old and the oldest respondent 102 USM R&D JoURnal

7 was 85 years old. Among the adopters, 44% belonged to the younger group since they were below the mean age of years old, 38% belonged to the older group. The remaining 18% of the adopters did not indicate their age. Among the non-adopters, majority (47 %) of the respondents belonged to the younger group since their average age was below the mean age of years old. This result shows that adopters were older than non-adopters. Based on statistical analysis (biserial correlation analysis; rpb=0.06, rpb2=0.0036), the age of the respondents had a trivial positive relationship with their decision as to adopt or not to adopt to hybrid rice technology. c. Educational Attainment All of the respondents attended school. Most of the respondents (38%) completed elementary, 30% were high schools level, 25% were college level, and 5% have vocational degrees. Most of the adopters had completed the elementary level while most of the non-adopters attained high school education. Chi-Square Test Analysis showed that the educational attainment of the respondents is not a factor to the decision of the respondents whether to adopt or not to adopt the technology ( 2= 0.36). d. Number of Household Members The average household members of the respondents was 4 for the adopters (SD = 2.08) and 5 for the non-adopters (SD = 1.73). The least number of household members was 0 and the highest was 10. e. Number of Years in Farming Based on the number of years in farming, the respondents were divided into two groups: the younger or new farmers which belonged to the group below the average years in farming; the older farmers or old timers were those who belonged to the group above the average years in farming. The newest farmer had two years experience in farming while old-timer has 65 years of farming experience. Among the adopters with an average of years of farming experience, 44.1% belonged to the younger farmer or new timer group while 38.2% belonged to the older farmer s group or the old timer farmers. Among the non-adopters with average of years of farming experience, 53.9% were younger or new time farmers, and 34.6% were old timer farmers. Results of Point Biserial Correlation Analysis revealed a trivial relationship between the number of years in farming and the decision whether to adopt or not to adopt the technology; only 0.49% of the farmer s decision to adopt the technology was determined by the number of years in farming ( rpb= 0.07 and r2= ). This variable therefore is not significant in the decision of the farmers whether to adopt or not to adopt the technology. f. Land Tenure About 66.7% of the total respondents owned their farmlands, 15% rented, 5% leased, and 10% were farm workers. Among the adopters, 70.6% owned their farm lands and the remaining adopters leased (5.9%), rented (11.8%) and worked as farm workers (11.8%). Among the non- USM R&D JoURnal 103

8 adopters, 61.5% owned their lands, 5% leased, 15% rented, and 10% worked as farm workers. This shows that there were more adopters who owned their farm land compared to the non-adopters. g. Land Area The average land area of all respondents was 2.78 hectares (range hectares). For the adopters and non-adopters, the average land area was 3.22 hectares and 2.21 hectares, respectively. There were two groups of respondents based on the land area. One was the small land area group composed of farmers with below the average land area, and the other was the big land area group composed of farmers with above average land area. Among the adopters with an average of 3.22 hectares land area, 76.5% belonged to the group with small land area and 20.6% of them belonged to the group with big land area. Among the non-adopters with an average of 2.21 hectares land area, 57.7% belonged to the group with small land area and the 42.3 % belonged to the group with big area. This shows that adopters have bigger land area compared to the non-adopters. The point biserial correlation analysis of the data revealed a weak positive relationships between the land area of the farmers and their decisions whether to adopt or not to adopt the hybrid rice technology. In addition, only 4.84% of the decision of the farmers to adopt was determined by the farmer s land area (rpb= 0.22 and r2 = ). This shows that land area has no significant influence on the decision of the rice farmers whether to adopt or not the hybrid rice technology. This means that whether the area is big or small farmers may or may not adopt the technology in their rice farming system. h. Type of Seeds Used The respondents were basically rice farmers who use either hybrid rice seed or inbred seeds. Based on the survey, 43% of the respondents use inbred seed, 32% use both hybrid rice seed and inbred seed, and 25% use only hybrid rice seed in their rice farming. i. Number of Cropping Majority (88%) of the respondent have two croppings or planting season per year. Majority of the adopters (97%) and non-adopters (77%) practice two cropping system and only a small number of respondents have one or three copping systems. j. Income Level The respondents were also divided into two groups depending on the level of their income. The grouping was done based on the average income of both adopters and non-adopters. Based on the survey, adopters and non-adopters have an average income of P82, and P65, , respectively. The respondents that were below the average income level were considered to have low income level and the respondents that were above the average income level were considered to have high income level. Among the adopters 50% had low income and 29.4% were in the high income level. For the non-adopters, 50% were in the low income level and 34.6% were in the high income level. Hence, adopters had an average income that was almost 45% higher than that of the non-adopters. T-test analysis showed that there is a significant difference between the income of the adopters compared to the income of the non-adopters at 5% significant level 104 USM R&D JoURnal

9 (F = and p-value= 0.048). This means that farmers using hybrid rice technology had higher income than those who were not using the technology, and farmers with higher income will adopt the technology and use it in their rice farming system. There is a moderate positive relationship between income and their decision whether to adopt or not to adopt hybrid rice technology. Only 11.56% of the farmer s decision to adopt the technology was determined by the income ( rpb= 0.34 and r2 = ). II. Perceived attributions of the adoption a. Relative advantage of hybrid rice technology There are several perceived attributions in the acceptability and adoption of hybrid rice technology in the famer s rice farming system (Table 1). One of these is the relative advantage of the technology to the farmers. Hybrid rice adopters agreed that the technology gives higher yield thus gives higher income compared to inbred rice. But majority of them did not agree that the selling price of the hybrid rice is higher than inbred because based on their experience, both types of rice have the same selling price, or the selling price of hybrid rice is even lower than the inbred rice. In terms of the production cost, 84% of the respondents did not agree that hybrid rice has the same production cost as the inbred. Majority believed that production cost of hybrid rice is much higher than the inbred due to higher cost of inputs particularly the cost of seeds and fertilizer. But all adopters agreed that hybrid rice technology can contribute a lot and will be a big help to increase the country s rice production to attain rice self sufficiency. Most of the respondents accepted and adopted hybrid rice technology initially since they were influenced by their co-farmers in the area. Some respondents are leaders of an organization who want to influence other members of the organization. Majority of them adopted the technology because it is already proven that hybrid rice gives them a higher yield thus giving them higher income compared to inbred rice. They considered that this helps their family improve their standard of living. USM R&D JoURnal 105

10 Table 1. Reasons in using Hybrid Rice Technology, Central Luzon 2010 Reasons Agree Disagree Freq Percent Freq Percent 1. Higher yield of Hybrid compare to Inbred Higher income in Hybrid Rice compare to Inbred Higher price of Palay compare to Inbred Same production cost Big help to increase rice production in the country Because of the influence of the cofarmers in the area Due to the encouragement of the members of the farmers organization 8. Because you are a leader of one of the farmers organization and you want to influence others members to use it also 9. Proven and tested b. Crop technology management and practices Majority of the adopter respondents agreed that management of hybrid rice is the same as the inbred rice in terms of insects, pest and diseases, nutrient and water management (Table 2). But majority of them did not agree that seed germination practices are the same with that of inbred rice since they considered that these practices of hybrid rice are more complicated and laborious. Due to lack of knowledge and information on hybrid rice technology the non-adopters still do not have the experience of planting hybrid rice, hence they find the crop management and practices of hybrid rice different from that of the inbred rice. 106 USM R&D JoURnal

11 Table 2. Farmers perception on HRT specifically on crop technology management in Central Luzon, 2010 Reasons Agree Disagree Freq Percent Freq Percent 1. Seed germination management is the same with the inbred Insects and pests management is the same with the Inbred Nutrient management is also the same with the inbred Water management is the same with the inbred c. Disadvantages of Hybrid Rice Technology The non-adopters of hybrid rice technology cited several reasons for their non-adoption (Table 3). One of the major reasons they gave is the high production cost of hybrid seeds compared to inbred seed which results in high cost of producing hybrid rice compared to the inbred rice. Also, they can use the hybrid seed only once hence, every cropping season they need to buy new seeds. In inbred cultivation, inbred seed is much cheaper and can be used for the next cropping season. Another reason is the timely availability of the seeds. For farmers, timely availability of seeds is very important so that they can avail of the water released by the National Irrigation Administration. The non-adopters also believed that hybrid rice has weak resistance to pests and diseases especially during wet cropping season. Majority of the non-adopters said that their lack of knowledge regarding proper crop management and practices of hybrid rice such gives them difficulties in planting hybrid rice. This therefore affected their decision to adopt the hybrid rice technology. And because of a lack of knowledge they perceived that crop management of inbred really differs from hybrid rice. But farmers who adopt the hybrid rice technology noted that the practices are almost the same for both hybrid and inbred rice. Most of the non-adopter respondents found that there is a lack of government support to hybrid rice production particularly support for the high production cost of the technology. For them, government support is badly needed to encourage adoption of the technology by farmers as ordinary farmers cannot afford to support the production of hybrid rice. Most of the adopters of hybrid rice technology decided to continue using the hybrid seeds because of the increased yield which in turn, results in increase of their income. But there are also adopters who do not want to continue producing hybrid rice because of the continuous increase in the cost of hybrid seed in the market thus increasing the production cost. USM R&D JoURnal 107

12 Meanwhile, most non-adopters wanted to try adopting the technology because they want to prove the claim of the adopters that hybrid rice really gives higher yield compared to the inbred. But there are also non-adopters who already believed that hybrid rice out-yielded the inbred but the higher production cost prevents them from using the hybrid seed. Some of non-adopters considered adopting the technology only if there is enough support from the government. Another reason given by non-adopters was the location of their farm areas which prevents them from producing hybrid rice as these areas are usually submerged with water during wet season, or have no water during dry season. Table 3. Reasons for not using Hybrid Rice Seed Technology, Central Luzon 2010 Reasons Agree Disagree Freq Percent Freq Percent 1. Higher cost of production compared to Inbred Seed Timely availability of hybrid seeds Weak resistance to pest and diseases 4. Mahirap na pamamaraan ng pagtatanim ng hybrid rice kumpara sa Inbred Rice 5. Lack of knowledge in the proper ways of planting Hybrid Rice d. Other problems that contribute to the adoption of the technology Many problems were raised by the respondents regarding the adoption of the hybrid rice technology. One major problem is the continuous increase in the cost of hybrid rice seeds as there is no more government subsidy for hybrid seed production; this results in high production cost. Most farmers also mentioned that even with the higher production cost of hybrid rice compared with that of inbred rice, its selling price is lower than the inbred thus many farmers choose not to adopt. Lack of trainings and seminars on the proper management of hybrid rice was also considered as one of the problems especially for the non-adopters because it may influence their decision to adopt the said technology. If they have enough knowledge on the technology, farmers will not encounter difficulties adopting the technology hence avoiding technology management 108 USM R&D JoURnal

13 problems. Furthermore, farmers still believe that hybrid rice technology is more expensive than inbred rice technology; they do not consider the fact that producing hybrid rice gives additional yield and therefore increase their income. There are many suggestions raised by the respondents to increase rate of hybrid rice adoption. These are: (1) Lower the price of hybrid seeds so that even ordinary farmers can afford to utilize them; (2) The government should continue to support the program especially in giving seed subsidy and others inputs. Government should give more attention to the agricultural programs. (3) Continuous trainings and seminars on rice production technology so farmers will be able to gain the necessary skills on the proper management of hybrid rice. (4) Increase the selling price of hybrid palay since the price is the same or even lower than the inbred palay. (5) Improve water/irrigation system since it will affect the rice production in the country. Conclusion and Recommendations Hybrid Rice Technology Program was one of the trust programs of the Philippine government under Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo s administration. It was formally launched last 2002 to achieve food security and rice self sufficiency for the country. Although many farmers believed that it can increase their yield by 15-30%, adoption rate of the technology is still very low. All the respondents (adopters and non-adopters) believed that hybrid rice can increase the yield of the farmers thus increase their income. This shows that hybrid rice technology was already accepted by the farmers, however not all adopted it due mainly to the higher price of seeds that contributes to the higher production cost compared to inbred. The respondents considered that hybrid rice technology is not affordable to ordinary farmers. The lack of knowledge in the proper management of hybrid rice also gives them difficulties in adopting the technology. Nevertheless, most of the non-adopters want to try producing hybrid rice so that they can prove whether it can increase their yield in turn give them more income - a to see is to believe attitude of the farmers. But even though the farmers believed that hybrid rice can increase their yield and income, some of the farmers do not realize it because of the high cost of production with a low selling price of hybrid palay. They do not realize that the additional yield and income can compensate for the additional cost in the production. Based on the results, there are gaps that must be addressed to increase the adoption rate of hybrid rice technology. The main reason for the non-adoption of the technology is the high production cost due to the higher cost of hybrid seed and other inputs compared to inbred. This means that the government program on rice must consider providing seed subsidy to help the farmers lessen the production cost using the technology. Another way of addressing the high production cost is for the research institutions to continue finding ways to reduce the cost of the technology and extend them to the farmers. At present only private companies produce hybrid USM R&D JoURnal 109

14 seeds hence most farmers are concerned with the increasing cost of these seeds. Therefore, local seed growers should be encouraged to produce hybrid seeds to lower the cost of these seeds in the market. This will encourage more farmers to engage in the said technology. Lack of knowledge and information on the proper ways of crop management and practices is another thing to consider. Seminars, trainings, technical briefings and other information campaign like techno-demo establishment and field day especially on low adoption rate areas will help farmers especially the non-adopters learn the proper management and practices in rice production, specifically the hybrid rice technology. Massive promotion of Hybrid Rice Technology must be focused on areas with low adoption rate. Government support is really a big help to increase the rate of adoption of hybrid rice technology. There should be a policy formulation on the selling price of hybrid palay to address the problems in marketing of hybrid rice; strong linkages of the national government with the local government units, non-government organizations and people s organizations with regards to the promotion of hybrid rice technology. Considering that the lack of an irrigation system has become a hindrance to adopting hybrid rice technology, the improvement of irrigation facilities will also be a great help to farmers whose farms are located in areas that do not have enough irrigation facilities. Finally, there is a need to conduct an in- depth study on a wider scale to help the government identify all the factors that will affect the adoption of hybrid rice for further policy and program formulation since hybrid rice is believed to be a great help for the country s to attain the rice self sufficiency as well as the food security. References Paroy, M. Jr Adoption of Hybrid Rice in Kalinga. Annals of Botany Progress in Research and Development on Hybrid Rice: A super-domisticate in China. Published on-line. Strive Foundation & PhilRice. The Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program: Midterm Assessment. Central Luzon Medium Term Agricultural Development Plan Department of Agriculture-regional Field Unit III. City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Hossain, M Economic prosperity in Asia: Implications for rice research. Philippines. 110 USM R&D JoURnal