ASEAN Muslim grouping highly lists food security
The ASEAN grouping representing the southern swathe of Southeast Asian Muslims has made a joint push for hybrid rice farming to up production, it was revealed during a meeting held in Palawan, Philippines on July 2.
Members of agribusinesses from the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) agreed in the meeting being held in Puerto Princesa to increase production of key staple items in an aim to become food sufficient by 2016.
“Achieving food security is one of BIMP-EAGA’s top priorities,” said Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair and Philippine-EAGA Signing Minister Luwalhati Antonino.
Founded in Davao City, Mindanao in 1994, BIMP-EAGA is composed of its four member nations and works to accelerate economic development through “focus areas,” among the top being agriculture.
To align with the regional groupings ambitions, the Philippine Department of Agriculture as a part of its food basket initiatives has identified 30,000 hectares for the cultivation of hybrid rice on Mindanao, the target of 40 per cent of the nation’s agriculture budget. Indeed, hybrid rice also matches with a major thrust of the Aquino administration to attain sufficiency in rice and other staples.
That Mindanao has become the center of such activity is no coincidence.
“Agriculture has a significant competitive advantage on our island,” Romeo Montenegro, Director of Investment Promotion at the Mindanao Development Authority recently told Inside Investor.
“In the Philippines, eight out of top 10 export agri-commodities come from Mindanao,” he informed.
With the newfound push for hybrid rice, farmers in Mindanao and across the BIMP-EAGA region can look forward to higher yields.
Hybrid rice farming is considerably more lucrative than traditional forms, with a one-hectare farm expected to harvest about 10 tons of rice, which is estimated to yield an average profit of about $4,000 per hectare at a rate of $400 per ton, for every planting season, a release to the media by MinDA stated. Inbred rice farming, on the other hand, only produces about four tons per hectare per season.
Rice typically can go through two planting cycles per year.
The ASEAN grouping representing the southern swathe of Southeast Asian Muslims has made a joint push for hybrid rice farming to up production, it was revealed during a meeting held in Palawan, Philippines on July 2. Members of agribusinesses from the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) agreed in the meeting being held in Puerto Princesa to increase production of key staple items in an aim to become food sufficient by 2016. “Achieving food security is one of BIMP-EAGA’s top priorities," said Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair and Philippine-EAGA Signing Minister Luwalhati Antonino. Founded in Davao City, Mindanao...
The ASEAN grouping representing the southern swathe of Southeast Asian Muslims has made a joint push for hybrid rice farming to up production, it was revealed during a meeting held in Palawan, Philippines on July 2.
Members of agribusinesses from the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) agreed in the meeting being held in Puerto Princesa to increase production of key staple items in an aim to become food sufficient by 2016.
“Achieving food security is one of BIMP-EAGA’s top priorities,” said Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair and Philippine-EAGA Signing Minister Luwalhati Antonino.
Founded in Davao City, Mindanao in 1994, BIMP-EAGA is composed of its four member nations and works to accelerate economic development through “focus areas,” among the top being agriculture.
To align with the regional groupings ambitions, the Philippine Department of Agriculture as a part of its food basket initiatives has identified 30,000 hectares for the cultivation of hybrid rice on Mindanao, the target of 40 per cent of the nation’s agriculture budget. Indeed, hybrid rice also matches with a major thrust of the Aquino administration to attain sufficiency in rice and other staples.
That Mindanao has become the center of such activity is no coincidence.
“Agriculture has a significant competitive advantage on our island,” Romeo Montenegro, Director of Investment Promotion at the Mindanao Development Authority recently told Inside Investor.
“In the Philippines, eight out of top 10 export agri-commodities come from Mindanao,” he informed.
With the newfound push for hybrid rice, farmers in Mindanao and across the BIMP-EAGA region can look forward to higher yields.
Hybrid rice farming is considerably more lucrative than traditional forms, with a one-hectare farm expected to harvest about 10 tons of rice, which is estimated to yield an average profit of about $4,000 per hectare at a rate of $400 per ton, for every planting season, a release to the media by MinDA stated. Inbred rice farming, on the other hand, only produces about four tons per hectare per season.
Rice typically can go through two planting cycles per year.
