The Philippines will never be able to achieve self-sufficiency in rice
unless it expands land for the cultivation of the staple or plant more
genetically enhanced rice strains that yield up to 35 percent more than the
traditional varieties.
These two options are the only ones available for the country, which
devotes only 2.3 million hectares of irrigated land for rice cultivation,
many of them in farms of uneconomic sizes, with little or no mechanization,
and with less water.

The country has about 1.9 million hectares of rain-fed rice farms. In
contrast, Thailand has 9.9 million hectares of rice fields and Vietnam
devotes 7.5 million hectares for the propagation of the staple.

Thailand is the world's biggest exporter of the grain, while Vietnam
follows suit, even as the productions in China and India are eight times or
seven times bigger, respectively.

In 2004 the Philippines only harvested 4.12 million hectares of land,
while Vietnam profited from 9.82 million hectares of land that grew rice.

Leocadio Sebastian, director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute
(PhilRice), said the country must be able to increase productivity
tremendously if it wants to achieve a semblance of food security and end the
dependence on imported rice.

Biotechnology has been addressing this problem with the introduction
of alternative-rice varieties resistant to rice diseases that that have
condemned farmers to a regime of low productivity, he added.

Tungro-disease and bacterial leaf blight-resistant (BLB)
rice-varieties are being developed to lessen yield losses in the coming
years.

At present, two BLB rice varieties, Tubigan 7 and Tubigan 11, are
already commercially available.

While the development of conventional rice takes between eight and 10
years, genetically enhanced varieties using the tools of biotechnology would
take only five years to develop, Sebastian said. This alone means that
indigenously developed transgenic rice varieties can reach the market at a
quicker pace, thus enhancing production.

PhilRice says while the initial cost of cultivating biotech rice is
higher, the long-term benefit is positive since the gross income of
individual farmers would rise by at least 26 percent.
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