The Department of Agriculture foresees rice production of at least one million tons from the proposed early cropping method that would address the perennial problem of destruction of crops during the typhoon season.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, in a press conference on Thursday, said rice yield would increase once the proposal is implemented, noting that there would be five harvest seasons under the new scheme.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary and National Rice Program Coordinator Dante Delima said they target to cover a maximum of 250,000 hectares nationwide for the early cropping method.

"The possible rice production under the early cropping is four tons per hectare," he said.

Under the proposed early cropping scheme, farmers would plant one or two months earlier than the usual practice of planting rice every September and October -- the height of the typhoon season.

He said majority of the farmers favor the new planting scheme but with proper support from the government.

Delima admitted that the method had been tried by the National Irrigation Administration but the initiative did not prosper due to lack of coordination with the department.

Delima said they are now conducting consultations with with NIA’s Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System and the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System on the proposal.

UPRIIS has a total of 386 irrigators associations with some 82,000 farmer-members, while MARIIS has 363 IAs with some 65,000 farmer-members.

The NIA plays a big role in convincing the farmers to accept the proposed early cropping scheme.

Alcala said if the plan pushes through, hopefully the Philippines would be self-sufficient in rice after 2013. *PNA

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