BAGUIO CITY – 200 to one ton per hectare increase in yield increment of rice was recorded in Apayao, Ifugao, and Kalinga as result of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Precision Rice Farming (PRF).
Edwin Joseph Franco, DA Rice technical staff, said that PRF is a community demonstration-cum-research aimed to determine, verify and integrate the impact of the different agro-advisory services under the Rice Crop Manager to provide field-specific recommendations to individual farmers that they can integrate into their farm practices.
The community demonstration of the PRF in Rizal, Kalinga, Alfonso Lista, Ifugao, and Apayao during the 2015-2016 dry season where more than 200 farmers were involved yeiled positive results. Compared to the usual farm practice of the farmers with the PRF, an increase in yield from the previous equivalent season was recorded.
Further, a variance was noted from the estimated area to the GPS measured area. The difference from the estimated area with the actual area affects greatly the recommendation for a more efficient farm practice, explained Franco.
He said that PRF will be a continuing project which works in multi-location verifying the uptakes of farmers.
The PRF is currently being implemented in Langalinlang in Abra, Sta. Marcela, Pudtol, and Luna in Apayao, and Tabuk City, Kalinga.
The department said that the farmers will have a better recommendation if it is based on the actual area, to have an exact calculation of fertilizer application.
By Jenny M. Dayao