Press Release
February 4, 2009

Loren to seek Senate inquiry on alleged defective hybrid seeds

Senator Loren Legarda, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, is set to call for a Senate inquiry on the alleged defective hybrid rice seeds distributed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) under its Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Program.

Loren was reacting to the complaint of several farmers in Nueva Ecija who were demanding reimbursement and damages from the company that sold them hybrid rice seeds which, according to them, were defective and failed to grow properly.

"According to Mario Imperio of the farmers' group Bumalikat, many farmers in his village in Guimba town feared that they would not recover their expenses due to the stunted growth of their rice plants," Loren noted.

Citing Imperio's report, Loren said the government paid Pl,500 per bag of 20-kg seeds as subsidy. The farmers paid P2,500 for the seeds they acquired through their municipal agricultural offices.

"According to a report, the farmers were asking the DA to require the SL Agritech Corp.' the firm that sold the seeds, to reimburse them," the Senator added.

"We should protect farmers against any problem that arises concerning their production process, the seedlings provided them for their farm, especially under a government program, is among them," Loren, who also chairs the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) said.

According to Loren, another farmer identified as Rod Custodio, organizer of the UNLAD BUHAY Primary Cooperative in Llanera, Nueva Ecija, said that rice farmers in his province are complaining of the rice seeds distributed to them by the DA last month. She added that according to the farmers they were informed that the seeds were distributed by SL Agritech.

She noted a report stating that after the planting last month, the farmers observed that the palay were crowding out the plants. The farmers then uprooted the plants, re-plowed the soil and planted the variety hat they were already familiar with.

But a countercheck with the DA on the controversy, GMA Rice Program Director Frisco Malabanan said that his office had submitted an initial report on the matter based on the findings of the technical teams organized by the DA Regional Field Unit 3, the Philrice and Nueva Ecija provincial LGU.

The initial report, according to Malabanan, stated that the abnormalities were not worrisome and that these were caused by the mixture of the HYV with the other seeds being used by the farmers. He added that only an average of 1.7% of the total planted seeds were affected.

Malabanan further stated that in Region 2 last year. The same abnormalities were obtained but that even in-bred were also affected by yield-changing climate factors.

Loren noted Malaban statement that upon learning of the abnormalities, farmers were advised by the DA to add nitrogen fertilizers or apply dosage of hydrogen fertilizers so that they would generate the expected yield.

Malabanan also said that it is important that the Municipal Agricultural Officers (MAOs) should be knowledgeable and always come handy with their extension services so that the farmers would not panic when there are unexpected results whenever new technologies are used for the first time.

According to Malabanan, after receiving the report of the technical teams, his office met with the MAOs and City Agriculturists so that they could advise the farmers on the findings. His office had also conducted information campaign through radio and print media.

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