Sixty two-year-old Rodolfo Tibayan from Naic, Cavite saved P20,000 on agricultural inputs from his 1.8-hectare land in the recent cropping season through new farming techniques. He shared that letting his land rest for two to three months before plowing, allowing the rice straws to serve as organic fertilizer, was a big factor.  Tibayan describes himself as a traditional farmer. He usually uses manual plowing and fertilizer application – methods he […]

The continuous type rice hull carbonizer (CT-RHC) developed by DA-PhilRice is boosting livelihood opportunities for rice farmers who use the heat from the carbonization process as alternative energy source. Rice hull is often seen as a mere waste material. But DA-PhilRice experts led by Dr. Ricardo Orge have developed the carbonizer that harnesses rice hull as biomass feedstock. The carbonizer converts rice hull into biochar. It is used as soil […]

Farmers who graduated from the Farmer Field School (FFS) under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund – Rice Extension Services Program (RCEF-RESP) reported that the training courses and the PalayCheck primers helped in increasing their yield. “The PalayCheck primer has been our guide in modern rice farming. It tackles topics from seed selection to post-harvest. It is  my routine to read first the primer before visiting my farm every morning,” Edgard […]

After three weeks of training, 29 agricultural extension workers from Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Bulacan are now ready to train rice farmers in their areas on high-quality inbred rice production, farm mechanization, and pest and nutrient management.  Lea Abaoag, head of DA-PhilRice’s Technology Management and Services Division (TMSD), said that this strategy of combined training was pilot tested in this batch.  “In this training, we combined the topics on producing […]

MANGATAREM, PANGASINAN – Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar commends farmers under the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) Mangatarem Modern Farm Project who are top yielders during the recent Gawad Ani Achievement Day.  Raymundo Banaga achieved the highest yield of 8t/ha for the 2021 wet season, followed by Jun Espiritu with 6.2 t/ha, and Rolando Sevilla with 5.3 t/ha yield. Dar also congratulated the RiceBIS project team and the […]

While restrictions during the peak of COVID-19 response had slowed down our institutional operations, the quality of our technologies that reached the farmers still enabled a record-high 2021 palay output of 19.96 million metric tons. In this issue, we share stories of recovery and growth as we continue to live up to expectations as the country’s premier rice research for development institution.

About 70,000 farmers in the Ilocos Region will receive 114,000 bags of certified inbred rice seeds from March until June under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) – Seed Program. Farmers can select from national recommended varieties, which include NSIC Rc 216, 222, and 402 and regional recommended varieties such as NSIC Rc 160, 358, and 480.  Studies show that use of high-quality seeds can increase harvest by 10% or […]

To help the farmers increase crop yields amidst the skyrocketing price of fertilizer in the global market, the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), is promoting the use of biofertilizers and biostimulants in combination with inorganic fertilizer. In a fertilizer derby, conducted by DA-PhilRice, results showed that the combinations of biofertilizers and/or biostimulants with inorganic fertilizers in the three to four seasons resulted in high […]

Drone technology for direct seeding, is it possible? This is the main question that was answered by our drone researchers during the June 23 AgriKapihan at the FutureRice Farm, DA-PhilRice Central Experiment Station. Seventy farmers, coop members, and agriculturists from LGU-Talavera and Science City of Muñoz, Central Luzon Hybrid and Inbred Rice Seeds Agriculture Cooperative (CLHIRSAC), Nagkakaisang Magsasaka Agricultural Primary Multi-Purpose Coop (NMAPMPC), and Bantug Primary Multi-Purpose Coop along with […]

In celebration of the National Kidney Month, more than 100 personnel of DA-PhilRice registered to help patients of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) during the 2022 Blood Donation Drive, which was led by the Community Relations Office, on June 17 at the Crop Biotech Center Multipurpose Hall. Most of them where first-time blood donors.