Self-reliant cooperatives are a viable alternative to government subsidies to help farmers increase their rice output, according to an expert from the International Rice Research Institute (Irri).
Dr. Peter Jennings, senior scientist emeritus at Irri, said the government alone cannot fund agricultural improvements needed to increase the country’s average palay yield to 6 metric tons (MT)per hectare.
These interventions would include better farm-to-market roads, modernized rice mills, earthen dams to capture rainwater where topography permits, credit for tube wells and low-lift pumps, and subsidies to reduce electricity costs to run the pumps.
He said more trained extension agents are needed to reduce the multiple deficiencies in crop management that constrain yield.
“These extremely expensive requirements are unlikely to be met from government coffers. Capital from the farmers and millers is a better alternative,” Jennings said in a report published on the international magazine, Rice Today.
“To generate this, the Philippine agriculture secretary would identify one or two rice areas easiest to impact. His staff would select in each area a highly respected farm leader competent in the management of people and finance,” he added.
Jennings, who led the team that bred the IR8 rice variety in the early-1960s, said the selected farmer would be responsible in convincing fellow farmers and millers in his or her area to join a cooperative. The prospective cooperative members should also accept obligatory taxes on each kilogram of grain harvested and milled output.
The money collected at the mills would create the capital for investment in irrigation and other farm equipment, Jennings said. The cooperative could also seek funds from international banks, foundations and other sources.
“The cooperative would invest in farm needs with the guidance of a board of elected farmers and millers. Success in the pilot areas would be extended to the rest of the country through the creation of additional farmer organizations,” he said.
“This proposal will be difficult to implement, opposed by vested interests and subject to financial mismanagement. Yet, self-financed farmer cooperatives are a viable strategy to increase irrigated rice area to attain a national yield average of 6 tons per hectare,” Jennings added.
The Irri expert said farmers could also hike their yield if they would shift to a more efficient irrigation system.
“Farmers’ appreciation that water control is essential for profitable rice farming clearly defines future needs.
The shift to water control can be accelerated to reach a goal of 80-percent to 90-percent irrigated farming,” Jennings said.
“That alone would guarantee a national yield of 6 MT per hectare. The strategy proposed to achieve this implies that progress will come more from the farmers’ initiatives than from the researchers,” he added.
Jennings led the Irri team that bred IR8 in the early-1960s. IR8 is considered to be the world’s first high-yielding rice variety and first rice variety released by the Irri with an optimum yield of 9.4 MT per hectare.