TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Eastern Visayas has brought this year's Rice Derby to Eastern Samar to promote modern farming technologies and help increase rice production in the province.

The Eastern Samar Office of the Provincial Agriculturist identified a 150-hectare contiguous rice farming area in Barangay Gap-ang as the technology demonstration site, where government agencies and private industry partners will showcase innovative, climate-resilient and sustainable rice production technologies under actual field conditions.

DA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Rodel Macapañas said the initiative aims to help farmers increase rice yields while reducing production costs through the adoption of modern agricultural technologies.

"We want our farmers to transition from traditional to modern farming. That is why we aim to increase farmers' awareness of modern agricultural technologies," Macapañas said.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ralph Vincent Evardone welcomed the province's hosting of this year's Rice Derby, saying it would help farmers identify technologies best suited to improve local rice productivity.

"This initiative is a great help because it allows us to evaluate new approaches that can further improve rice productivity in Eastern Samar," Evardone said during the program's launch.

Macapañas said the Rice Derby is more than a showcase of agricultural innovations, as it gives farmers the opportunity to evaluate which technologies can increase yields, lower production costs and improve farming efficiency.

A total of 200 farmers have signed up as cooperators and will cultivate their rice fields using different production technologies that will be monitored and evaluated throughout the cropping season.

The demonstration area will implement the Adaptive Balanced Fertilization Strategy (ABFS), which promotes proper nutrient management based on soil conditions and crop requirements to maximize productivity while reducing unnecessary fertilizer use.

Supporting the initiative are 10 hybrid seed providers, 11 biofertilizer companies, 10 soil ameliorant providers, one inorganic fertilizer supplier, five foliar fertilizer companies and two nanotechnology firms.

The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) are also supporting the Rice Derby initiative.