THE government should channel its limited resources on research and development (R&D) that focuses on improving the yield of inbred rice, instead of prompting costly technologies such as hybrid rice. This was one of the recommendations of a research report, titled ”Philippine Agricultural and Food Policies,” published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri). ”Enhancing an inbred-based system that is adapted to farmers’ familiar practice of saving, reusing and exchanging seeds would be a more responsive approach to improving productivity than promoting...hybrid rice, which has not yet achieved commercially viable levels,” the study read.