The Department of Agriculture (DA) heightened the annual celebration of National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) by establishing “BeRICEponsible” as a theme starting this year until 2028. Under Proclamation No. 524, s. 2014, NRAM is held every November to raise public awareness on rice, tackle malnutrition and poverty, and achieve rice self-sufficiency. This year’s celebration will kick off on Nov. 3 at Liwasang Aurora, Quezon City Memorial Circle. Dr. Hazel V. […]

Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) fulfilled its 2017-2022 strategic plan as the institute celebrated its 37th anniversary, Nov. 3-4. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the committee on agriculture, food, and agrarian reform, said that DA-PhilRice has “outsmarted the pandemic when [it] employed strategies to ensure that farmers receive their certified seeds every cropping season and are capacitated through blended learning approaches despite the community restrictions and lockdowns. […]

An international award-giving body has recognized the Department of Agriculture- Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) Magazine as the 2022 Best Free Food Publications. Hallbars Sustainability Research Institute cited the quarterly-published knowledge product for featuring healthy rice and rice-based recipes that are easy to prepare and cook. In its recent issue, DA-PhilRice Magazine published rice nougat and brownies as snack and dessert ideas. It has also featured bibingka made of black […]

Honoring rice in the form of art became possible through the Butil, Buhay, Sining, at Kulay: A Rice Art Exhibit that was launched on Oct. 27 at the DA-Crop Biotechnology Center within DA-PhilRice CES. The heart and soul of the artworks is 71-year-old rice artist Herminigildo “Hermisanto” Santos, one of the pioneers of rice art in Asia. The one-man exhibit opened in celebration of the 37th Anniversary of DA-PhilRice, Museum […]

Participants in the Lakbay Palay hosted by Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, had reported that they learned ways to gain savings during the activity, Oct. 26. With the theme, “Bukid Tipid Tips, Subukan!”, the field day highlighted cost-reducing technologies to more than 200 farmers and extension workers.  “In Bauang, La Union, we spend around PhP45,000 for a hectare. We were impressed that machines […]

Confident Bicol rice specialists. Finishing off their three-month Rice Specialists Training Course (RSTC), the 28 rice specialists taught by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Ligao, Albay, said they are now ready to help improve farmers’ competitiveness. According to Benjie Rance, the training under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, has equipped him with essential knowledge. The training was conducted from June 6 to Oct. 21 at DA-PhilRice […]

Six years after its revival, the interactive web-based system called PalayStat, is gaining more users registering 78,172 unique page views in October this year. Developed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), the website (https://palaystat.philrice.gov.ph/) took a huge leap from only having 1,442 unique page views in 2016. Researcher Rochelle Caliwagan said that she uses the platform in consolidating data for provinces that her team covered and when […]

Are you looking for a one-stop shop for rice-related data in the Philippines? PalayStat will surely be useful for you! PalayStat, an interactive web-based system that aims to provide easy access, was launched in 2014. It contains farm-level data of selected rice provinces acquired from the Rice-based Farm Households Survey (RBFHS), a survey being conducted by the Socioeconomics Division of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) every five years. With this […]

In support of the aspiration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr., the SanGlad RiceBIS Farmers Association sold milled rice at PhP20/kilo in a recent Lakbay Palay of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Bual Norte, Midsayap. Merily Ortega, president of SanGlad, said that with the guidance of the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) program of DA-PhilRice from production to marketing, they managed to produce palay and sell […]

In a village in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, the fear caused by an unfortunate event here seven years ago is now supplanted with faith that farmers can improve their lives; thanks to an opportunity opened up by the Villar Sipag Foundation and maintained by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). Modrika A. Masukat, owner of MORE SAF 44 – an RCEF farm school, recalled that after the town incident in 2015, residents […]