Manila and Hanoi are collaborating on developing rice technologies aimed at increasing the production of the staple.
The governments of the Philippines and Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which provides for an exchange between the two countries of scientific resources in developing new and improved palay varieties that are high-yielding, of good grain quality, with disease and pest resistance, and with wide adaptability.
The MOU was signed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Vietnam’s Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (Nomafsi).
“The bilateral partnership aims to harness manpower to provide mutually supportive services to farmers of both countries,” said PhilRice executive director Ronilo Beronio.
Nomafsi deputy director general Ha Dinh Tuan signed the MOU on behalf of Vietnam.
Aside from developing new rice technologies, the MOU also calls for research activities using PalayCheck and integrated pest management (IPM) to boost palay production.
PalayCheck consists of production technologies and practices for increased yields while IPM uses a number of complementary strategies such as biological and cultural management practices.
Beronio said the intellectual-property rights of the joint research activities will be owned by Vietnam and the Philippines.
Vietnam is a major source of rice for the Philippines, which has become the world’s top rice importer since 2008.
Due to a shortfall in production and to boost the stocks of the National Food Authority, the Philippines was forced to import as much as 2.4 million metric tons (MMT) of rice last year.
Rice imports will again breach the 2-MMT mark due to the damages caused by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. The two typhoons damaged as much as 1.3 MMT of paddy rice or an equivalent of 850,000 MT of milled rice.
Paddy-rice production may also be adversely affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon which is expected to persist until February 2010, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Source: Business Mirror