THE International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is set to introduce by 2026 a new variety of rice in the Philippines that is drought tolerant and could reduce cost for farmers.
IRRI Regional Breeding Lead for Southeast Asia Mary Jean Du said that they are now testing four breeding pipelines for this new rice variety. Testing for the new rice variety started in 2022 and Du added that they will be selecting which breeding technique to nominate to the National Cooperative Test.
"It will take two more years [and] maybe a new variety will be released," Du told reporters on Monday, adding that the new variety may come out by next year or in 2026.
This new variety of rice is expected to endure higher temperatures and could survive for up to two to three weeks without water. Additionally, it is projected to lower the expenses for planting and mitigate losses for rice farmers.
The IRRI has been testing the new rice variety by identifying which technique can yield more. These four breeding pipelines include direct seeded with irrigation, transplanted with irrigation, direct seeded under rainfed and transplanted under rainfed.
The selected and most promising rice breeding technique will then move to the next stage of development and will be distributed to farmers.
Du emphasized that the direct seeding breeding process would help farmers in cutting costs, comparing it with conventional farming or transplanting, which typically amounts to P60,000 to P70,000 per hectare.
"Because with transplanting, they will need to hire many people, unlike if they go with direct seeded, they can use machines for that," she said, adding that the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization has started distributing seeders.
To speed up the breeding in IRRI, Du said that they are expecting for a new facility to be finished within the month and may start operations in April. This new facility can help shorten the breeding cycle to two to four years in comparison to the conventional way that takes 10 to 12 years.
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