A poster on a PhilRice training program for fresh agriculture and related sciences graduates called the “Rice boot camp” won the Best Poster Award during the 23rd Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines Conference in Pampanga,  May 11-16. Rice boot camp-PhilRice

Titled “Training program for new graduates of agri and other related sciences to help boost the rice industry”, the poster outlined how top fresh college graduates can be mobilized to form a critical mass of agriculture professionals in the future.

Val Garcia, one of the authors and poster presenter, said the boot camp was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the fresh graduates on the latest rice production technologies.

During last year’s training, Garcia said 49 new graduates participated. In the monitoring conducted by the team from PhilRice’s Technology Management and Services Division, it was found that 69% of the said number is now involved in agri-related industries.

“Some work in DA-RFOs in their respective regions while others are in agricultural research institutions,” Garcia said.

During the training, the participants were introduced to the PalayCheck System and Palayamanan Plus. The PalayCheck System is PhilRice’s banner program for favorable environments. It is composed of eight keychecks, mainly winning rice farming practices and technologies, that farmers may consider for high rice yield.

Palayamanan Plus, on the other hand, encourages farmers to go on crop diversification to maximize income from rice and rice-based farming systems.

Garcia noted the participants had a relatively high knowledge gain, and they also found the training very relevant for their careers in the future.

A similar initiative was conducted in PhilRice Isabela, Batac, and Agusan. As of this writing, the boot camp has trained close to 100 new graduates.

The Rice boot camp is an ongoing initiative of PhilRice. New batches of similar training programs are set to be conducted this year.

Laarnie L. Mandia, Melvin B. Ruiz, and Ruben Miranda were the co-authors.

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Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is a government corporate entity attached to the Department of Agriculture created through Executive Order 1061 on 5 November 1985 (as amended) to help develop high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies so farmers can produce enough rice for all Filipinos.

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Philippine Rice Research Institute