Guided by a  rice self-sufficiency officer (L), rice farmers of Camarines Sur, learn to conduct Agro-Ecosystem Analysis (AESA) on their farm. AESA is a thorough analysis of the interactions among field factors such as weather, soil, and the rice plant. Conducted 15 days after transplanting until two weeks before harvesting, AESA aids farmers in decision-making. The activity is part of the Location-Specific Technology Development (LSTD) program in the area. Under the PhilRice’s LSTD program, rice self-sufficiency officers were dispatched  in areas where yields are below 3.8 t/ha (irrigated farms) and 2.5 t/ ha (rainfed). LSTD supports the Rice-Self Sufficiency program of the government, which envisions the country to be 100 percent rice self-sufficient by 2013. By customizing PhilRice’s technologies, farmers will be able to identify and adopt farming systems, rice varieties, and technologies best suited for their locality.