Participants in the Lakbay Palay hosted by Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, had reported that they learned ways to gain savings during the activity, Oct. 26.
With the theme, “Bukid Tipid Tips, Subukan!”, the field day highlighted cost-reducing technologies to more than 200 farmers and extension workers.
“In Bauang, La Union, we spend around PhP45,000 for a hectare. We were impressed that machines such as mechanical transplanter and drum seeder can help us save around PhP1,000-P4,000,” Remedios Granpil said.
Daniel Lauro Sr. from Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, said he learned that he can save more than PhP2,000 through right fertilizer application and use of organic nutrient sources..
Meanwhile, Francis Lopez from Tagudin, Ilocos Sur gathered about the right amount of seeding rate.
“I learned that 40kg of high-quality rice seeds is enough for a 1 ha. We use 80-160 kg of seeds per hectare thinking that sowing more seeds results in high yield,” he said.
Farmer-attendees also learned from visiting the Palayamanan model area, varietal demo, and inbred rice seed production area, and demo sites showing the effect of the number of seedlings per hill, low glycemic rice, and farm machinery.
