Factors Affecting the Adoption of Hybrid and High-Yielding Rice Varieties in the Philippines

The Philippines has recently been aiming to achieve self-sufficiency in rice. Recent programs and policies have been anchored on the development and adoption of high-yielding rice varieties in order to achieve this goal. Thus, this paper aims to identify the factors that significantly affect the farmers' adoption of high-yielding varieties such as hybrid and certified inbred rice. Using a multinomial logistic model, these factors were estimated. Results show that the age, input assistance, and collective marketing significantly affect the adoption of certified inbred rice over farmers' recycled seeds. On the other hand, irrigation, farm size, and trainings significantly affect the adoption of hybrid over farmer's recycled seeds. In general, there was a low adoption rate of hybrid rice. Key informant interviews revealed that several issues arise in the process of seed growing, production, and marketing. Therefore, to increase the farmers' incentive to adopt hybrid rice, a hybrid variety that produces superior grain quality and resistance to stresses must be developed and distributed at a reasonable price.