LOS BAÑOS, Laguna- Based on the data of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), high-quality inbred rice seeds and proper management can increase the yield up to 10% or more. It also assures high-seedling vigor, purity, strict limit on weeds and uniformity of crop stand.

On the other hand, production cost is low as the use of inputs is maximized and nutrients uptake is more efficient. Seed purity adds to the uniformity of crop stand so marketing efficiency improves, and post-harvest losses decrease.

As the training and extension arm of the Department of Agriculture, the Agricultural Training Institute Region IV-A trained 30 rice farmers from Laguna and Quezon province as potential seed growers. The five-day Training on Inbred Rice Seed Production and Certification was held last November 4-8, 2019 in Los Baños, Laguna.

“During the training, the participants were able to gain knowledge and skills on the production of inbred seed through the lecture from the technical experts and hands on exercises such as field inspection and roughing,” said Mr. Mervin Vitangcol, Project Officer of the training.

Moreover, the training acquainted the participants on certification process as part of the requirements in the accreditation of seed growers.

Seed certification process includes: 1) accreditation of seed growers; 2) preliminary field inspection; 3) final field inspection; 4) seed selection; 5) receiving of sample seeds; 6) seed testing of seed samples; 7) issuance of results of analysis; and the final process is 8) tagging.

Lecture and discussion on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Integrated Nutrient Management, and Integrated Crop Management (ICM) were also delivered during the training.

As of writing, CALABARZON has a total of 33 seed inspectors.