ORMOCANON farmer Alfredo Q. Roble finally received his award from President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III for leading this year’s national winners of the Gawad Saka, a search for outstanding achievers in agriculture and fisheries. He was honored for hybrid rice production at the Rizal Hall of Malacañang Palace last Dec. 13.
Roble shared the limelight with farmer Anna Cagulada of Dujali, Davao del Norte who was adjudged as the country’s best integrated rice farmer. Both of them along with other 12 individual winners each received a Presidential citation, trophy and cash reward of P100,000. Group winners received project grants totaling P4.25 million.
Another Leyteño is this year’s agricultural scientist Dr. Carlos dela Cruz of Balinsasayao, Abuyog town who made breakthrough researches on jackfruit production and pest management for which he received a project grant of P1 million from the Bureau of Agriculture Research.
Shining example
For the 62-year-old Roble, gone are the days when he would yield only 70 canvans per hectare on his rice farm. Encouraged to use hybrid rice by the Rice Production Enhancement Program (RPEP), he not only enjoys an escalated yield of 285 cavans now but also increased income that enabled him to become a farmer-entrepreneur.
Although Ormoc is basically a sugar-producing area, many farmers ventured into crop diversification to optimize the use of their fertile lands. Francis Rosaroso, chief information officer of Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Unit 8 said that farmers opting to plant different kinds of crops generate an income ranging from P2-3 million a year.
Roble is one of such farmers. He is tilling two hectares of irrigated rice fields at two locations in San Jose, part of the 300-hectare compact rice areas in Ormoc. He began farming at age 12. “I used to help my father till the land,” he recalls. “But despite all this, I still went on with my studies. I usually go to our farm on weekends especially on Saturdays. Yet my father did not attain much success in farming since he was practicing the traditional method of farming which I’m trying to correct now.”
His keen interest on hybrid rice was developed after attending a technical briefing on hybrid rice technology and the season-long training on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) conducted in 2005 by the city government in coordination with Philippine Rice Research Institute and DA.
That time, Mayor Eric C. Codilla was extensively promoting hybrid rice technology through his RPEP to improve farmers’ income through higher yields. Under the program, farmers were given six bags of fertilizers per hectare for free on the condition that they harvest at least 140 cavans per hectare. Failure to hit the target will mean paying the whole cost of the fertilizers.
The farmers were encouraged to use hybrid seeds over the usual inbred rice varieties because they could increase their harvest and at least double their previous incomes. One of the farmers who were receptive in adopting the new technology is Roble. “The things that inspired me to use hybrid rice seeds were the high-yielding capacity, aromatic grains, good quality, higher market demand and excellent ratooning ability which can give additional harvest to as high as 30 cavans,” he explains.
Before shifting to F1 (hybrid variety), Roble could only attain an average yield of 3.5 metric tons or 70 cavans per hectare. Using hybrid seeds and other recommended production-enhancing technologies, he was able to obtain a record yield of 14.45 MT or 289 cavans per hectare including the production of ratoon crop after the main rice crop.
For the last four croppings, Roble was able to harvest an average of not less than one ton from ratooning the rice plants, a strategy that has been giving him additional harvest and income with the least production cost. Over the years, he developed special skills in hybrid rice farming. His daily visit to his farms made him more observant to unusual signs occurring in the rice fields.
At one point, his one-hectare farm situated a kilometer away from his residence showed telltale signs of iron toxicity. Had it not been for his morning habit of monitoring his farm, the problem could never have been detected. Heeding the advice of rice experts, Roble drained his rice field after plowing to expose the soil to sunlight.
He also practiced the intermittent irrigation during early crop growth to increase phosphorous content. Later on he applied Zinc sulfate, a colorless crystalline compound to mitigate the adverse effect of the soil’s iron toxicity. Today, the area is sustainable and producing well.
As a value-adding activity, Roble does not only sell his produce as palay but he also as milled rice, knowing that hybrid rice commands a premium price due to its quality: soft grains when cooked and with aroma. He sees to it that 50-70% of his produce are sold as milled rice; 70% during dry season since he can dry the palay and store them; but only 50% during rainy season.
Looking back, Roble said life seemed difficult for him and his family. He could hardly afford to buy new farm tools or set aside extra money for the repair of his old and dilapidated house. But in the last six years, venturing into hybrid rice enabled him to acquire farm machineries such as hand tractor, thresher and draft animals.
He also built a semi-concrete house for his family, and bought two motorcycles and a multicab. He was also able to put up a sari-sari store that serves as alternative outlet for his own farm products. As a barangay captain of Valencia as well, Roble is a leader who believes that his best quality are hard work, industry and time management which he applies in dealing with his official and personal obligations.
(West Leyte Weekly Express issue of Dec. 12-18, 2011)
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