Here is an interesting simplistic analysis made by a reader of Philippine Star on the subject of rice self-sufficiency.
For now, these rice crisis can still be solved. granting that there are 90 million Filipinos and everyone eats an average of 2 cavans of rice per year, that translate to a demand 180 million cavans of rice to be met every year.
In 1982, my father was able to harvest 96 cavans of palay in half hectare of ricefield. from that period to the present, some farmers now harvest up to 350 cavans of palay from one hectare of ricefield. but lets just be conservative and base our computation in the technology of rice farming in 1982.
If 96 cavans is harvested in half a hectare, that means 192 cavans of palay can be harvested in one hectare in one cropping. there are two croppings in one year so that in one year, a hectare could yield 384 cavans in one year. a ricemill with 65% recovery therefore could yield 250 cavans of rice per hectare in one year granting there are only two croppings.
If we divide the annual demand of 180 million cavans of rice with the annual yield per hectare of 250 cavans, the Philippines need only 720,000 hectares of ricefields to meet the annual demand of rice. what this means is that, the Philippines can be self-sufficient in rice and can even export considering that 2.7 million hectares are devoted to rice farming.
And now the million dollar question: why are we not self sufficient when the technology is available to harvest palay up to 350 cavans per hectare and there is more than enough farmlands to plant rice?
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Hoard = to accumulate and hide or keep in reserve.
For now, these rice crisis can still be solved. granting that there are 90 million Filipinos and everyone eats an average of 2 cavans of rice per year, that translate to a demand 180 million cavans of rice to be met every year.
In 1982, my father was able to harvest 96 cavans of palay in half hectare of ricefield. from that period to the present, some farmers now harvest up to 350 cavans of palay from one hectare of ricefield. but lets just be conservative and base our computation in the technology of rice farming in 1982.
If 96 cavans is harvested in half a hectare, that means 192 cavans of palay can be harvested in one hectare in one cropping. there are two croppings in one year so that in one year, a hectare could yield 384 cavans in one year. a ricemill with 65% recovery therefore could yield 250 cavans of rice per hectare in one year granting there are only two croppings.
If we divide the annual demand of 180 million cavans of rice with the annual yield per hectare of 250 cavans, the Philippines need only 720,000 hectares of ricefields to meet the annual demand of rice. what this means is that, the Philippines can be self-sufficient in rice and can even export considering that 2.7 million hectares are devoted to rice farming.
And now the million dollar question: why are we not self sufficient when the technology is available to harvest palay up to 350 cavans per hectare and there is more than enough farmlands to plant rice?
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Hoard = to accumulate and hide or keep in reserve.
