Twenty-six trainees from Ifugao, Kalinga, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and Cagayan finished the season-long Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund-Rice Specialists’ Training Course (RCEF-RSTC) on Aug. 30 at DA-PhilRice Isabela. The training course, which started on May 30, tackled three modules that ignited their passion to assist farmers and improve agriculture; strengthened their understanding and appreciation of the scientific principles, or the “WHY’s” behind rice production technology recommendations and practices; and improve the […]

Trainee-graduates of a recent Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) training who are mostly arm school trainers vowed to be at the frontlines in helping the farmers improve their yield and income through shared learning. In the recent graduation of 34 participants in the training of trainees (TOT), rice specialist Rictor Fortaleza said that the two-week activity has equipped them in educating farmers on modern farm production.  “We went through this […]

There’s a hostile projection for companies that do not adopt new technologies. John Chambers, former executive chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, estimated that “at least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.” Thinking ahead even before Chambers’ prediction, DA-PhilRice has envisioned a digitally transformed system that will not only benefit […]

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Vice-President Sara Z. Duterte are featured in a rice paddy art established on Aug. 16 at the FutureRice Farm in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. To be visible after a month, the paddy art is planted with PSB Rc 10 and the traditional purple rice. Attendees in the Lakbay Palay being organized by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) will have […]

At long last, farmers are now being encouraged to think that business can go beyond merely selling fresh palay at the mercy of traders. Through the DA-PhilRice’s Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) Community Program, the mentality has taken shape as select rice farmers’ groups now pride themselves with their best-selling rice and rice-based products. Check them out! Brown rice Also called “pinawa,” these are milled but unpolished grains of any […]

Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) – Seed Program farmer-beneficiaries in Region I reported that the free certified inbred seeds given to them significantly increased rice yield. Elvira Licudine, 68, from Bacnotan La Union, shared that her family was only harvesting 60 sacks of rice. However, when they became RCEF beneficiaries, their harvest had increased from 60 to 100 sacks.  “In spite of typhoon and water shortage in the previous cropping […]

The DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed and Extension programs is currently developing location-specific fertilizer recommendations to help local farmers maximize their resources amid high fertilizer costs. “Farmers’ resources have now become more limited because of high fertilizer costs. Meanwhile, current practices show that if farmers continue to apply fertilizers that are not appropriate to crop needs, their resources are wasted, and yields […]

Living a healthy life is a matter of choice. While some people choose to be healthy, others take on the bigger responsibility to help others live a healthy life. In the rice industry, there are people who took on the challenge to bring healthier rice options to more Filipinos’ tables. Rice options to curb malnutrition Upon learning that 3 of 10 children are malnourished and 7 of 10 women are […]

Romeo Ferrer, 65, and Florante De Luna, 50, from Gumaca, Quezon used to spend a lot of time and money to transplant the one-hectare land they each owned. But when they began using mechanical transplanters, things started to change for the better. They have been religiously following the recommended practices and technologies they learned through their engagement as farmer-cooperators of the PalaySikatan technology demonstration last 2021 wet season. They are […]

With an aim to expand the reach of services to seed growers and farmers in CALABARZON, DA-PhilRice Los Baños signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Quezon National Agricultural School-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (QNAS-TESDA) on Aug. 15. “This partnership is a course of action to achieve TESDA’s Abot Lahat vision,” said TESDA Vocational School Superintendent Ceferino R. Tolentino Jr. Aside from supplementary supply of seeds, the objective of […]