THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental is banking on sugarcane-rice cropping system (SRCS) to become rice self-sufficient and even explore export potentials for the commodity.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said a two-hectare farm of sugarcane intercropped with rice at Hacienda Bagacay, Barangay Aranda in Hinigaran town is now in flowering stage and up for harvest by middle of next month.
Masculino said this is one of the pilot sites for the province's SRCS program along with the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), local farmers and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The other areas, mostly block farms, are in Cities of Kabankalan, Himamaylan, La Carlota, Bago, Talisay and Cadiz, and Murcia town.
"We have been experiencing shortage of rice in the province especially during tiempos muertos or lean months, from June to August, so we thought of utilizing sugarcane areas to be intercropped with rice," he said.
Masculino cited a study of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute (Philsurin) conducted in Victorias City 30 years ago showing that the intercropping system has produced 23 cavans of palay (unhusked rice) or 12 sacks of rice per hectare of sugarcane.
So there's a potential with sugarcane-rice intercropping, the provincial agriculturist also said.
After the launching of SRCS program in Hinigaran last June, the Provincial Government and the SRA have also conducted actual studies through various models on different stages of sugarcane growth.
The province, through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), utilized the rice seeds provided by the DA for sugarcane-rice intercropping in eight localities.
The seeds are short-duration, from 90 to 95 days, and drought-resistant.
For now, at least 20 hectares of the sugarcane farms in the province have been intercropped with rice.
Masculino said almost all of these intercropped areas are up for harvest this year and many other local small farmers have also expressed interest in joining the program after the milling season in September this year.
In terms of potential, Masculino said the province has 190,000 hectares of sugarcane farms.
"If we can utilize all these areas, this would mean an additional rice production for the province," he said, adding that "for instance, if we can only produce 10 sacks of palay per hectare, this would translate to 1.9 million bags of palay or about 900,000 bags of rice."
OPA records showed that Negros Occidental, with 325,000 metric tons average annual production, has an average monthly rice consumption requirement of 600,000 bags.
Its sufficiency level ranges from a high of 95 percent to a low of 85 percent depending on climatic conditions.
In terms of deficit, it ranges from 300,000 to 900,000 bags, it added.
This means that the additional production through sugarcane-rice intercropping can offset the province's deficit in rice, Masculino said.
"We are even looking at tapping bigger sugarcane planters to intercrop their crop with special rice varieties mainly for export," he said, stressing that small farmers will address the consumption deficit while big planters focus on the export market potentials.
The provincial agriculturist underscored some advantages of sugarcane-rice intercropping which include low expenses on land preparation and maintenance.
Also, space can be maximized thereby producing more which also means more income opportunity for the farmers.
Masculino said sugarcane farmers do not need to change their cultural practices, which is the reason why some are hesitant to venture intercropping.
Instead, they will get to appreciate the value and potential of intercropping their sugarcane to rice and eventually to other crops.
"This will allow the province to realize its vision towards diversification in agriculture," he stressed.
To further push forward the SRCS program in the province, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has allocated P10 million in support of the sugarcane-rice intercropping system.
The amount is intended for the seeds and other inputs for the farmers like fertilizers, technovan for skills development, pieces of training and promotion, and mechanization component.
"We are upbeat that through this measure we can really address the rice shortage problem in the province. This would mean food security and affordability," Masculino said.
Masculino said that the Central Philippine State University (CPSU) now has a seed bank that is being used in conducting trials to determine the best native varieties of rice for intercropping.
"We are still in experimental and research stage and yet we already saw its potential," he added.