Farmers in Bulacan and Pampanga provinces have started receiving certified inbred seeds from the Department of Agriculture (DA) under its Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), officials said.
According to Dr. Flordeliza Bordey, director of the RCEF Program Management Office at DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) RCEF Program Management Office, some 174,000 sacks of certified inbred rice seeds weighing 20 kilos each were to be distributed to farmers in the two provinces during the wet season.
Some 100,000 sacks of inbred rice seeds are intended for farmers in Pampanga while 74,000 are for farmers in Bulacan, she said in a Philippine Information Agency report.
Among the seed varieties for distribution are the NSIC Rc 160, Rc 218SR and Rc 222.
“As we approach the peak of the planting season in these two provinces, we are excited to see farmers start sowing these high-quality seeds and reap the benefits of the RCEF program,” Bordey was quoted as saying in the PIA report.
The certified inbred rice seed distribution is aimed at supplementing the hybrid rice production strategy of the Marcos administration.
