For more than 40 years, Mizpah Ortega planted rice the way her parents and neighbors did—heavy on seeds, early fertilizer, and frequent insecticide. The result: low yields and rising costs that kept her stuck in a cycle of meager returns.
“I could only harvest around 2.8t from my 0.8-ha farm,” Ortega said, now 55.
But in March 2020, her decades-old routine began to shift when she joined the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Training of Trainers on the Production of High-Quality Inbred Seeds and Farm Mechanization held at the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Negros.
“At first, I only went because the Department of Agriculture required us local farmer-technicians to attend. But as the training progressed, I saw how much I didn’t know—and how much I could improve,” she admitted.
The turning point came when she learned that her seeding rate of 180-200kg/ha—more than triple the recommended rate—was hurting her productivity. The training introduced her to direct seeding, proper pest and disease control, and the science behind nutrient management. Most surprising to her was the practice of using only 40-60kg of seeds per hectare.
“I tried the techniques they taught us and followed the 60-kg seeding rate. I was amazed when my yield jumped to nearly 5t. For a small farmer like me, that’s a big deal, especially with high input costs,” she recalled.
Armed with new knowledge and better results, Ortega has since transitioned from a hesitant learner to a passionate advocate for modern farming. Today, she is one of the go-to resource persons in her area’s farmer field schools, helping other rice growers unlearn harmful habits and adopt cost-efficient, science-based techniques.
“I now teach topics like nutrient management using the Right EAT—element, amount, and timing—as well as tungro disease management and the modified dapog seedling method,” she said.
Ortega’s journey shows the gradual shift where more farmers are beginning to embrace new knowledge to keep up with the demands of modern farming. For someone who once questioned if change was even necessary, the training did not only increase her harvest but also gave her a new purpose among her fellow farmers.
“It’s not easy to let go of what you’ve known for decades. But when you see the results, you realize that learning never really stops,” she added.
