Some experts maintain that targeting a national average rice yield level of 6t/ha is too much for achieving self-sufficiency and that 4.5t/ha would be enough. This might be true if the country is only interested in achieving self-sufficiency per se, disregarding competition from imported rice. But in the context of ASEAN economic integration, we must produce rice at a competitive price so that we will be able to profitably sell […]

Juanito, 60, owns a 1-hectare rice field that he has been tilling for half of his life. One morning, somebody asks, “Did you know that rice farming will never be the same once we open our country to trade liberalization?” Confused, Juanito drops his jaw, scratches his head, and walks away wondering. When nothing comes to mind, he shrugs the idea off. For farmers like Juanito, caring about their farms […]