Thursday, December 25, 2008 Native rice demand helps preserve terraces By Jane Cadalig
GOVERNOR Teodoro Baguilat Jr. said the increasing demand for native and organic rice abroad including the Unites States and European countries, is working positively in the preservation of the world-renowned rice terraces.
Farmers, he said, are getting concerned on the preservation of the terraces for the fact that these are the sources of the native rice, which is exported.
The Provincial Government has been confronted with problems on the degrading state of the terraces.
Ifugao is one of the provinces growing organic rice varieties in the region, along with Mt. Province and Kalinga.
The province grows the "tinawon" rice, which is produced only once a year. Tinawon is the generic term for the native rice varieties grown in the province.
Baguilat said there are about eight to 10 varieties left in the province, whose production varies from tribe to tribe.
Because of the growing demand for indigenous rice, the governor wants to access the gene banks of the Philippine and International Rice Research Institute, which are the agencies keeping samples of the indigenous rice varieties for mass propagation and distribution to farmers.
The Department of Agriculture has started promoting the production of traditional rice varieties in support to the growing campaign for organic farming.
Production of native rice does not demand synthetic fertilizers, as hybrid varieties do.
