by Editha Z. Caduaya.

New Hybrid Rice Demonstration Farm in Davao de Oro

DAVAO CITY (June 20) -A major initiative to increase rice yields recently kicked off in Davao de Oro province. The Provincial Government, through its Agriculture Office, launched a Provincial Rice Technology Forum for the 2025 wet cropping season by opening a 25-hectare Rice Technology Demonstration Farm in Purok 7, Inopawan, Barangay Panang, New Bataan, on June 17, 2025. This demonstration farm showcases hybrid rice seed varieties with the goal of maximizing yield per hectare. Local officials led by Governor Dorothy “Dotdot” M. Gonzaga highlighted that this project aligns with broader efforts to improve agricultural productivity and ensure food security in the province. After a formal program at the launch, attendees from various organizations and farming communities participated in a ceremonial transplanting, symbolizing unity and shared commitment toward sustainable farming in Davao de Oro. Participants also signed a commitment wall, underscoring Governor Gonzaga’s pro-people, needs-based approach to agricultural development – one intended to have a lasting impact on the province’s food security.
Infrastructure and Technology to Boost Yields
Governor Gonzaga has emphasized infrastructure rehabilitation as a foundation for agricultural growth. In New Bataan, the provincial government has been prioritizing the repair and upgrade of farm-to-market roads, improving connectivity for farmers and reducing post-harvest losses. Better rural roads mean that rice farmers can more easily transport their palay (unmilled rice) to markets or mills, thereby reducing costs and increasing their earnings. In parallel, the new demonstration farm is introducing modern farming technologies. It features innovative fertilization strategies and even drone-assisted farming for tasks like precise fertilizer application and direct seeding. By using drones to distribute seeds and apply nutrients, the farm aims to streamline seeding, ensure even coverage of inputs, and provide targeted pest control – all of which can reduce labor requirements and input waste. These efficiencies are expected to lower production costs while boosting per-hectare yields. Farmers in attendance observed these demonstrations first-hand, gaining exposure to tools and techniques that could help them increase rice productivity on their own farms. Such mechanization and technology-driven practices are in line with national goals to make rice farming more efficient and attractive to the next generation of farmers. Farmers in the Philippines are increasingly adopting modern methods – such as mechanization, better seed varieties, and improved farm infrastructure – to boost rice production and reduce labor intensity. These advancements aim to improve yields and farmer incomes in the long run.
Government Initiatives for Rice Self-Sufficiency
The efforts in Davao de Oro form part of a larger national push to enhance rice self-sufficiency. The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) regularly partners with local governments and private seed companies to conduct Rice Technology Forums across the country, showcasing high-yielding rice varieties and new farming practices. For instance, a recent rice technology forum in Pangasinan demonstrated 33 hybrid rice seed varieties alongside bio-fertilizers, with the goal of finding the most suitable high-yield varieties for local conditions
These forums are aligned with the DA’s hope of achieving rice sufficiency by improving farm productivity nationwide
One cornerstone policy in recent years has been the Rice Tariffication Law of 2019, which liberalized rice imports by replacing quantitative import restrictions with tariffs. While this law opened up the market to cheaper imported rice, it also created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) – a program earmarking ₱10 billion annually (sourced from rice import tariffs) to support local farmers with mechanization, seed distribution, credit, and training. Initially set to last six years, the RCEF has now been extended until 2031 and expanded – with annual funding reportedly tripled to ₱30 billion – to continue boosting domestic rice production
The enhanced RCEF funding is being directed toward providing farmers with modern machinery, high-quality seed (including hybrids), training in modern techniques, expanded credit assistance, and improved pest management
These interventions are meant to address long-term challenges and raise yields, though it is noteworthy that in the first six years of RCEF, domestic harvests did not increase as significantly as hoped, and production costs for rice even remained higher than targeted (about ₱13–15 per kilo of paddy versus the ₱8 goal)
The national government under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has also launched programs inspired by the 1970s “Masagana” green revolution. The updated Masagana 150 and Masagana 200 programs set ambitious yield targets of 150 and 200 cavans per hectare (roughly 7.5 and 10 tons of palay per hectare, respectively). Masagana 150 focuses on using certified inbred seeds, while Masagana 200 promotes hybrid rice seeds, direct seeding methods, and increased inputs to potentially achieve 10 tons per hectare
. According to the DA’s projections, hitting these targets could significantly raise farmer incomes – for example, 10 tons/ha of hybrid rice (Masagana 200) could net a farmer an estimated ₱70,000 per hectare in profit at a market price of ₱27.50/kg, versus traditional yields and practices which net much less, These programs, alongside initiatives like the rice techno-demo farms, illustrate the government’s strategy of improving seed quality and farming techniques to dramatically increase output. Top national leaders have repeatedly expressed a desire to achieve near rice self-sufficiency before the end of the current administration. In fact, the government announced an aim to be fully self-sufficient in rice by 2027 (a year before Marcos Jr.’s term ends)
. Achieving this would require boosting annual domestic rice output to roughly 25–27 million tons through measures such as climate-resilient farming (to mitigate typhoon and El Niño effects) and digital technology adoption, While previous administrations have failed to reach full self-sufficiency due to policy missteps and weather-related setbacks, the current plan includes limiting annual rice price increases to <1% and raising farmers’ incomes by over 50%
This illustrates that food security is not just about production volume, but also about farmer welfare and price stability. The local projects in Davao de Oro – improving roads, showcasing hybrid seeds, and training farmers – feed into these national objectives by empowering farmers at the community level to produce more rice efficiently.
Rice Price Movements and Their Impact on Farmers
In recent years, the rice sector in the Philippines has been buffeted by significant price volatility, which affects both consumers and farmers. After a period of relative stability, rice prices surged to a 15-year high in 2023-2024, straining consumers’ budgets and prompting government intervention. Global factors played a role in the spike – for example, major exporters like India imposed restrictions that tightened world supply, and local production was hit by unfavorable weather (including an El Niño-induced drought followed by strong typhoons in late 2024)
By April 2024, the average retail price of regular-milled rice in the Philippines hit around ₱51 per kilo, well above the roughly ₱40/kg level a year earlier
This contributed to overall food inflation and threatened to push millions of Filipinos deeper into poverty. To shield consumers, the government took dramatic steps. In September 2023, President Marcos Jr. ordered a nationwide price ceiling for rice (₱41/kg for regular milled and ₱45/kg for well-milled rice) amid what he called “alarming” price increases
While this emergency price cap was temporary, authorities followed up with other measures in 2024 and 2025 to curb retail prices. Notably, in June 2024, an Executive Order lowered the tariff on imported rice from 35% to 15%
The intent was to incentivize more imports and increase supply, thereby pulling down prices. Indeed, rice import volumes soared to record levels – 4.68 million metric tons in 2024, up from 3.6 MMT the year prior – and by early 2025 the influx of cheaper imported grain, combined with improving global supply, did succeed in driving prices down. The Department of Agriculture also introduced a Maximum Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) scheme for imported rice, initially set at ₱58/kg in January 2025 and gradually reduced to ₱45/kg by end of March 2025 as world market prices eased
. By April 2025, rice was actually in deflation year-on-year – retail prices were lower than they had been in April 2024 (e.g. regular-milled rice averaged ₱44.45/kg in April 2025, down from ₱51.25 the previous year)
These actions brought relief to consumers, but they came at a cost to Filipino rice farmers. The flood of imports and the enforcement of lower market prices caused farmgate prices for palay to drop sharply. In January 2025, the average farmgate price of unmilled rice was just ₱20.69 per kilo, a steep 17% decline compared to a year earlier
In some regions, palay prices fell by over 25% year-on-year, squeezing farmers’ income margins
Farmer cooperatives noted that such declines were an expected outcome of the import surge and tariff cuts, as local traders had to compete with abundant low-priced imported rice
In other words, while consumers benefited from cheaper rice by 2025, many farmers earned less for their harvests, raising concerns about their livelihoods. Agriculture groups have urged the government to balance price stabilization with farmer support. One proposal has been for the National Food Authority (NFA) to purchase more palay from local farmers to shore up farmgate prices. Under the “food security emergency” declared in February 2025, the NFA was authorized to release rice from its buffer stock to the market at ₱35/kg to ease retail costs
Farmer advocates argue that the NFA (and DA) should simultaneously procure a larger buffer stock – well beyond the traditional 15-day supply mandate – at a floor price (around ₱23/kg has been suggested) to ensure farmers still earn a decent income
Essentially, they want a stronger safety net for farmers: as the government intervenes to cap prices for consumers, it should also intervene in purchasing palay to prevent farmers from being hurt by low farmgate prices
There is also pressure to revisit the import tariff policy; economic managers have signaled they will review the 15% tariff rate and adjust it if needed, depending on retail price movements
It’s worth noting that while farmgate prices fell, the production costs for farmers have remained high. Inputs such as fertilizer and fuel saw price spikes in 2022, and though global fertilizer prices have moderated since their war-driven peak, many farmers are still facing thinner profit margins.
This context makes the adoption of higher-yielding technologies even more critical: if farmers can double their yields with hybrid seeds and mechanization, their income can still improve despite lower per-kilo prices. For example, under the Masagana programs, even at ₱20–₱27 per kilo of palay, a farmer hitting 7–10 tons/ha could earn substantially more than a farmer producing the national average yield (~4 tons/ha).
Thus, the demonstrated techniques in places like Davao de Oro – drones, hybrid seeds, better fertilization, direct seeding – aim to cut production costs per kilogram and raise output, so that farmers remain profitable even in a low-price environment
Outlook and Conclusion
The Philippines finds itself at a pivotal point in its rice sector. On one hand, recent policy interventions have stabilized consumer rice prices after the alarmingly high spikes of 2023-2024. Inflation for rice has turned negative in 2025, and ample imports plus the release of government stocks have ensured markets are well-supplied. On the other hand, these same dynamics underscore the country’s continued dependence on imports, which in 2024 accounted for roughly 30% of rice consumption – a marked increase from about 17% five years earlier The national goal of nearly 100% self-sufficiency by 2027 remains ambitious and challenging. Structural factors like limited arable land, vulnerability to extreme weather, and a growing population will continue to test the country’s ability to produce all the rice it needs
Nevertheless, there are reasons for cautious optimism. Analysts project that domestic rice production could improve in the 2025-2026 season, especially if El Niño conditions fade and more normal rainfall returns
The government’s extension and expansion of RCEF means greater resources will be funneled into farmer support programs in the coming years, potentially addressing some yield gaps if implemented effectively. The proliferation of provincial techno-demo farms – like the one in New Bataan, Davao de Oro – is building grassroots capacity by exposing farmers to cutting-edge practices and high-yield varieties.
These efforts, combined with infrastructure development (farm roads, irrigation systems, post-harvest facilities) and continuous innovation, aim to empower Filipino farmers to produce rice competitively. In Davao de Oro, the commitment of leaders and farmers alike was evident at the launch of the Rice Techno Forum.
The image of stakeholders – from government officials to local farmers – jointly transplanting rice seedlings and pledging on a commitment wall captures a hopeful narrative for Philippine agriculture. It is a narrative of collaboration and shared vision: national and local governments, private sector partners, and farming communities working together to achieve a common goal of sustainable rice self-sufficiency and farmer prosperity. If such initiatives can be sustained and scaled, the Philippines’ longstanding dream of rice security may well be within reach, ensuring affordable rice for consumers and a better livelihood for those who grow the nation’s staple.

Published Date: June 20, 2025