Kahapunan, Valencia City, April 1, 2020 – Fifteen seed companies throughout the country showcased various hybrid rice varieties in the 10th National Rice Technology Forum (NRTF) of the DA, Rice Board in partnership with PhilRice and the local government of Valencia City.

Launched on December 5, 2019, the NRTF is an initiative of DA with an aim to promote the latest technologies in rice production, especially on hybrid rice developed by the government and the private sectors.

Three months after its launching, the City Agriculture Office of Valencia City started its crop cutting and data gathering activities to determine the projected yield and the characteristics of each rice variety planted in the 100-hectare demo farm.

The NRTF is one of the strategies of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to attain rice sufficiency through the adoption of hybrid rice technology.

DA-Regional Field Office 10 Regional Executive Director Carlene C. Collado, said that such activity allows local farmers to identify which rice variety best suits their area, which in turn, will augment their productivity and income.

In Region 10, RD Collado emphasized also the farm mechanization component to effectively make farming more efficient and reduce postharvest losses.

The use of farm machineries include combine harvester, mechanical transplanter – riding type, drone seeder, direct seeder – riding type and the walk-behind transplanter.#