The graduate If you thought people of age are stubborn and not open to modern ideas, meet Nanay Cecilia F. Tagobador, 54-year-old farmer from Bago City, Negros Occidental. She is one of the 125 farmers who graduated from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Farmer Field School facilitated by MBA Forest Technical School Inc. under the auspices of the RCEF Extension program. “We learned that spraying pesticide should not be […]

PhilRice Bicol station is participating in the Institute-wide Walk your Talk Challenge (WokTok) that aims to capacitate all DA-PhilRice personnel/ staff on the PalayCheck System. After several sessions, participants are now building up knowledge and skills through blended discussions, live demonstrations of farm activities and machine operations, and hands-on fieldwork that will help them serve farmers more confidently. For security officer Anthony Chad Guazon, among the most important lessons he […]

The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) – Seed and Extension Programs conducted Social Mobilization and CapacityBuilding Workshops in September through October 2021. With 145 participants from local government units (LGUs) of Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon, the workshops laid out challenges and opportunities for better RCEF implementation. According to Senior Agriculturist Sheryl M. Sinense of Tagkawayan, Quezon, the workshop made her aware of the challenges other municipalities are facing during seed […]

Twenty Rice Specialists’ Training Course (RSTC) and 96 Farmer Field School (FFS) participants have completed their training on the latest farm technologies. The trainees from Regions 10, 11, and 13 are now specialists in the production of high-quality inbred rice, seed certification, and farm mechanization. RSTC participants work in the DA-Regional Field Office, Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, Municipal Agriculture Office, Farmers’ Cooperatives and Associations, and accredited farm schools of […]

One of the alternative courses of action in disseminating information about agriculture is engaging the youth community. Various programs have been developed to encourage the youth to be involved in agriculture especially in rice farming to help farmers adapt available technologies. Let’s discover the engagements of the youth in agriculture. After almost 7 years of implementation, the Special Training for Employment Programs (STEP) by the Technical Education and Skills Development […]

Aimed at making the public hybrid rice seed system sustainable, a community-organized hybrid rice farming and marketing setup will soon take root in Apayao. A preparatory season-long training on F1 Hybrid Rice Commercialization participated in by 30 inbred and hybrid rice farmers started on September 21 in Bacsay, Luna. “Through the training, we hope to tap and engage capable farmers in hybrid rice cultivation and seed production. Then we link […]

The Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) – Batac has conducted a farm walk in Bugasi, Banna, Ilocos Norte that showcased high-yielding varieties and cost-reducing technologies. Employing PalayCheck, an integrated crop management system, the varieties shown were NSIC Rc 480, Rc 506, Rc 508, Rc 510, and Rc 512. It also used the mechanical transplanter and multi-purpose seeder for crop establishment. Most of the farmers preferred NSIC Rc 510 (Tubigan 43) […]

During the Agusan branch station’s 31st anniversary on Aug 9, Director Dr. Caesar Joventino Tado stated that the station will focus on macro and micronutrient deficiencies and toxicities research to achieve 4t/ha in Caraga Region by 2022. Tado also lauded the branch’s entire workforce for supporting the RCEF team in the seed distribution, extension, and communication efforts this year. He thanked the pioneering staff for their continued service.