Drought-resistant palay pushed

The International Rice Research Institute yesterday called on rice farmers to try drought-tolerant varieties as the El Niño weather phenomenon continued to threaten farmers’ livelihood and the country’s food security.

The Laguna-based institute noted that the climatic phenomenon was expected to cause much lower rainfall in the first half of this year throughout Southeast Asia, which included the major rice-growing countries like the Philippines.

“El Niño conditions will worsen livelihoods and may also lead to insufficient food supply for vulnerable farm households,” IRRI climate change expert Reiner Wassmann said in a statement.

Bruce Tolentino, IRRI deputy director general for communication and partnerships, said IRRI scientists had developed and released rice varieties that could produce up to 1.2 tons more per hectare than the varieties that performed poorly under drought conditions.

“It is the poor farmers who suffer the most from the effects of climate change,” said Tolentino. “This is why IRRI has been working hard to develop climate change-ready rice varieties that can withstand extreme climatic conditions such as droughts, floods, heat and cold, and soil problems such as high salt and iron content.”

He said that in the Philippines, the drought-tolerant rice varieties available to farmers in rain-fed lowland farms included those called Rio Grande, Sacobia, and 12 varieties of Sahod Ulan.

As for upland farms, similarly resilient varieties are the Pasig, Apo and Katihan 1.

“We have provided PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) with the foundation germplasm for climate change-ready rice,” Tolentino said.

“PhilRice is multiplying these seeds for distribution to farmers who need them the most.”