Written by Web Team
Ruben Miranda, deputy executive director and officer-in-charge of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), urged rice farmers to develop the habit of recording their farm expenses and activities as records are indispensable tools in decision making.
“From our observations, it`s always best for you (farmers) to record, among others, production costs like fertilizer expenses and practices done in different crop stages,. This will help you keep track of field conditions, yield, and learning from previous practices,” Miranda explained during the Farmers` Field Day and Forum at PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, April 1.
Miranda, an awardee in the field of rural development, also encouraged farmers to practice PalayCheck as these eight key checks covering farm activities from land preparation to harvest can help rice farmers save costs and increase yield.
Attended by about 500 agriculturists and farmers, the Farmers` Field Day and Forum showcased fields, in which PalayCheck and Palayamanan, a diversified farming system, were practiced. In rainfed areas, farmers practicing Palayamanan grow crops other than rice, and raise livestock for additional income and food sources.
Furthermore, high school and elementary teachers of Rizal, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija also learned the technologies developed by the Korea Project on International Agriculture (KOPIA) project. KOPIA is Korea’s support to the country’s bid for food self-sufficiency.
Totaled 32, the teachers were PhilRice-trained on PalayCheck, which will be taught to pupils from fourth to sixth grade and to high school students with Technology and Livelihood Education subject.
In his speech, Dr. Jerry Rigos, Muñoz municipal agriculturist, pinned his faith on the youth saying that their early training on agriculture will help “surpass the yields of the generation before them.”
