Promotion of Special Purpose Rice Production Technology in Selected Municipalities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines

Special Purpose Rice (SPR) is a technology that consists of different rice varieties that were developed by Central Luzon State University. The unique varietal characteristics of SPR are pigmented, glutinous, good-yielding varieties planted in lowland areas. This study was conducted to increase farmers’ income through employing different promotion and extension activities and enterprise development. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Cost and return and benefit-cost analysis were used to determine the financial benefits of using the SPR in different production systems. Results revealed that incorporating the following parameters is critical in the sustainable adoption of the SPR. Amongst them are: ensuring that recommended production technologies are strictly followed by the farmers, ensuring the quality of seeds for planting, the presence of a market for the produce, engaging the farmers in value-adding activities like processing, capability development in entrepreneurship, and adopting clustering approach of the farmers to address economies of scale in marketing and processing. The use of SPR produced an average yield of 6.11 MT/ha and 5.04 MT/ha during the dry and wet seasons from 2021-2023, respectively, higher than the usual varieties of inbred rice. The net benefit from producing a CLS-2 variety of SPR is higher than regular rice, having an average difference of Php 22,355.53 per hectare from 2021-2023.