Masagana 99

Masagana 99 was a program in the Philippines under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos that promoted the planting of Green Revolution varieties of rice developed by the International Rice Research Institute. It began in 1973. "Masagana 99 is a Filipino word for bountiful and 99 was the average production target of 99 cavans [4,900 kilos] per hectare per season for irrigated rice." The rice varieties used in the program were capable of high yields when grown with heavy use of fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides, and irrigation. "The program... had four elements: Access to improved technology, credit, price support for rice and provision of low-cost fertilizer."


 * "For a brief spell during Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorship, the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice, reversing a trend of buying overseas to fill in shortages in the staple since colonial times.


 * "The country exported rice from 1977 to 1978 following the success of Marcos' "Masagana 99" program--a blueprint to harvest a "bountiful" 99 cavans of rice (4,900 kilos)--per hectare."


 * "Masagana 99 mobilized 6,000 agricultural technicians, all agricultural credit institutions in the Philippines, P2 billion in funds, and 530,000 irrigated rice farmers. Although Masagana 99 made the country self-sufficient in rice during the initial years, it failed to raise real farm income because the increase in total supply intensified the cost-price squeeze phenomenon that removed the intended profits in rice farming."

A successor program to Masagana 99 is the FIELDS Program, which stands for "fertilizers, infrastructure and irrigation, education and extension work, loans, drying and postharvest facilities, and seeds."

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * International Rice Research Institute
 * Green Revolution
 * Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

External Articles

 * Amy R. Remo, "Marcos' 'Masagana 99' made RP rice exporter, self-sufficient," Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 26, 2008.