GMA Super Rice

The Philippine Rice Institute (PHILRICE) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) recently announced the development of a hybrid rice variety which these two institutions expect to propogate throughout the country. Called “GMA Super Rice”, this new variety rice possesses a number of traits superior to the present high-yielding varieties our farmers cultivate. Among others, “GMA Super Rice” can produce up to 240 cavans (one cavan = 50 kilos) of rice per hectare, three times the present average yield of 85 cavans per hectare. It is also typhoon and pest-resistant.
This means that our farmers may be able to triple their income every harvest time. Tripling our palay producers’ income will generate a series of benefits that will surely help promote the socio-economic condition of our people in the countryside where the bulk of our population lives.
Tripling our country’s rice production, will promote self-sufficiency in rice for our people and reducing or even ending our dependence on rice imports, besides saving our scare dollar reserves. Self-sufficiency means food security. The new rice variety is expected to boost our government’s anti-poverty campaign. Considering that there are some 30 million poor Filipinos, meeting their food needs will materially contribute to their daily food and nutritional requirements.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has reported that the Philippine population grows at the rate of 2.3 percent a year while our rice production increases by only 1.9 percent. The problem of feeding our ever-increasing population will thus be offset by this “GMA Super Rice”.
We congratulate the Philippine Rice Institute and the Bureau of Corrections for this “GMA Super Rice”. We hope our other research institute will produce similar outputs.

Manila Bulletin Issue
February 8, 2003