IN preparation for the upcoming rice season, the Farm Technology and Services Department of the National Tobacco Administration held an online seminar and training session on high-quality inbred rice production for its extension workers (EWs) on June 21.
The session included basic lessons on rice morphology and the different growth stages of the plant. It also sought to educate EWs on new and more efficient production and management practices.
In his message, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Robert Victor G. Seares, Jr. discussed the importance of the NTA’s rice production project at a time when there is rising food insecurity and economic uncertainty worldwide.
The participants are expected to enhance their training skills by knowing the different stages of rice growth and understanding the different rice production techniques and practices.
“As extension workers, you serve as the primary link between the Agency and its farmers and are thus crucial to the effective implementation of its programs and projects,” said Seares.
The rice production, a component project of the Integrated Farming and Other Income Generating Activities, was introduced in 1999 in support of the self-sufficiency agenda of the government. The project specifically aims to augment the income of tobacco farmers, other than tobacco production. Farmer-cooperators are given production, technical and marketing assistance.
In 2021, the NTA assisted 4,952 farmer-cooperators from major tobacco growing provinces, with an average yield of 5,058 kilos per hectare. Production assistance is granted in the form of farm inputs and a subsidy to purchase seeds, fertilizers, and fuel as well as rent tractors for land preparation.
“As extension workers, you serve as the primary link between the Agency and its farmers and are thus crucial to the effective implementation of its programs and projects,” said Seares.
Also present during the seminar were Deputy Administrator for Operations Engr. Cesario Sambrana and resource speakers Tobacco Production and Regulation Officer III Rhonelle Sulicipan, Chief Science Research Specialist (SRS) Juanito Maloom, SRS I Melvin Andres, and Philippine Rice Research Institute – Batac SRS II Marilyn Yere.