‘Seed subsidy a source of corruption’

Although it will help advance the country’s drive to attain rice self-sufficiency program, the subsidy for rice seeds given to farmers has been terminated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) because this has been a source of corruption.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said this to The Manila Times.

Alcala said “giving seed subsidy is not the right solution” to help farmers boost rice productivity, and that “giving them subsidy for fertilizer is even worse” because the people in charge are getting a lot of kickback money from the suppliers, especially from the big private firms.
How has the corruption happened?

Alcala explains that, for instance, farmers have been duped into buying ordinary seeds labeled as “certified seeds.” Real certified sees are more expensive because these produce as much as 1.2 MT to 1.5 MT per hectare more than ordinary seeds.

It’s so easy to put ordinary seeds in sacks labeled “certified seeds.” “Mataas ang temptasyon samga taong in charge na magkamali (The temptation to the people in charge to make mistakes),” Alcala says.

Having discovered this, the DA has stopped giving the subsidy for seeds. Instead it has decided instead to distribute “registered seeds” to rice farmers. Registered seeds yield certified seeds, which farmers can plant up to three croppings, according to the secretary.

Alcala says that the DA has then allotted the fund for seed subsidy to other agricultural programs, particularly to the distribution of drying facilities and other postharvest facilities.

Having postharvest facilities is very imperative, adds Alcala. Without these, there is a big chance for palay not to germinate or even rot, especially during the wet season. —Claire Mercado, Manila Standard Today