Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar led the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Crop Biotechnology Center (CBC) of the Department of Agriculture that will develop various plant products to help ensure food security and enhance the competitiveness of Philippine agriculture, Sept. 30. The facility — located in the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) complex, in the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija — will also help attain the “Sustainable Development Goal No. […]

DA-PhilRice is providing financial assistance to all personnel who incur COVID-related expenses in the performance of their duties under the newly created COVID Fund. Regular staff and other personnel are required to submit necessary documents such as official receipts, travel orders, and trip tickets to avail of the financial assistance. Executive director Dr. John C. de Leon said the institute’s assistance to COVID-affected staff “will come through 80% reimbursed expenses […]

Leopoldo Lopango, a rice farmer in Milagros, Masbate, woke up earlier than usual at 3 am; awakened by the rains pouring hard on their tin roof. He was grateful for the rains and for the graduation ceremonies of the RCEF – Farmer Field School (FFS) held on Sept. 4. “The leaves of my palay, already in the maximum tillering stage, are turning yellowish green and in need of fertilizer. But […]

With the increasing reports of brown planthopper (BPH) cases, an expert from the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) urges farmers to check first the insect population before implementing control measures. BPH is a small brown insect found mainly on the base of rice plants above the water level. Adults and nymphs suck the plant sap from leaf sheaths, causing yellowing of lower and then upper leaves. Whole areas […]

Farmers in remote areas in Isabela and Abra are now producing their own high-quality seeds based on their learning from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Program. “We used to struggle in acquiring seeds, and we cannot attain our [desired] yield from exchange seeds. Through this learning activity, we are not only farmers but also seed growers of high-quality seeds that can be easily accessed in our locality,” farmer Saldy […]

The public sector is ensuring enough supply of rice seeds amidst pandemic through a series of training conducted in hybrid rice-producing regions. Dr. Fidel M. Ramos, senior science research specialist of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Isabela, said the activities complement the DA’s Hybrid Rice Program. Currently, four batches with 150 seed growers are trained in Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan, and Kalinga from June to October […]

Farm machines developed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) are now more accessible with the signing of licensing agreement with an Isabela-based fabrication shop, Sept. 21. In the non-exclusive license agreement, ACT Machineries and Metal Craft Corporation will manufacture and commercialize the handtractor-drawn multipurpose seeder (MPS) and ride-on buoyant tiller. MPS is used for dryland seeding of rice, corn, and mungbean. Through MPS, farmers can finish planting […]

On Sep.1, the Regional Rice Technology Forum and Hybrid Rice Techno-Demo Harvest Festival highlighted the vigor of 14 hybrids under the agro-climatic conditions in Region 12’s Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces. The 14 hybrid rice varieties featured during the event at the Midsayap station were PHB 79, Bigante, Habilis, SL-8H, SL-12H, SL-19H, Hyvar, US88, TH 82, Batari, Longping 534 and 2096, Mestiso 20, and Kimbee.  Farmers from Buenavista, Quezon also […]

More than 600,000 farmer-beneficiaries are expected to receive free high-quality certified inbred seeds from the RCEF Seed Program this 2022 dry season (DS). The seed delivery and distribution, which started on Sept.16, aims to deliver 1.5 million bags of seeds to 723 municipalities in 42 provinces until March 2022. The farmers can also avail of technical briefings, Farmer Field Schools, seminars/field days, knowledge sharing, information, education and communication support materials, […]

Rice is a prominent staple food comprising 40% of the Filipino diet and a primary source of carbohydrates that provide energy needed by the body. No other food can truly take the place of rice. The Healthier Rice Project under the DA-PhilRice, in partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), develops biofortified rice like Golden Rice as a complementary food-based intervention to offer better access to nutritious food. Golden […]