Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, agriculture committee chair, urged rice farmers to use quality rice seeds and farm machineries to earn good income and become competitive in the local and international market. “[Trade liberalization compels us to be more competitive as agricultural crops such as rice from other countries will easily be available in the market]. To compete [with other rice-producing countries such as Vietnam], you have to reduce production cost. […]

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) was cited for its initiatives in communicating agricultural development during the recent Binhi Awards held March 22 at the Makati Diamond Residences in Makati City. Established in 1978, Binhi Awards is an annual competition organized by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. in cooperation with the San Miguel Corporation that recognizes communication efforts in the agriculture, environment, and agrarian reform sector. Jayson C. Berto, PhilRice […]

  The list of rice varieties adaptable to each region has been released after being proven competitive both in dry and wet seasons through the project dubbed as Accelerating the development and adoption of next-generation (Next-Gen) rice varieties for major ecosystem in the Philippines. “These were tested by the farmers themselves through participatory variety trials (PVS). Yield stability, pest and disease resistance, and grain quality were the main criteria used […]

Rice varieties (such as NSIC Rc 216, Rc 160, and Rc 300) bred by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Rc 222 produced by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) were the top four most preferred rice varieties of Filipino farmers in irrigated lowland fields nationwide, both for dry and wet seasons. “These pool of inbred rice varieties were previously tested for biotic and abiotic stresses to ensure that these […]

Becoming an agriculturist was not Ruben Balagtas Miranda’s (a.k.a. Sir RBM) childhood dream. Yet, he grew to love the profession that made him serve the rice farmers for a lifetime. Sir RBM barely knew anything about farming prior to entering the university. What he did was to follow the footsteps of his sister. “My elder sister was an agriculture graduate, and I saw that she was doing well in her […]

Swapping varieties is a common practice among rice farmers in Anilao, Iloilo. Every time farmers would hear of a neighbor’s good yield, they would excitedly ask for some seeds to try hoping that they could also enjoy a handsome harvest. Edgar Belago, 61, used to cling to this practice. For more than a decade now, Edgar and his family had been renting and tending a one-hectare farm beside their house […]

The Philippine and Papua New Guinea (PNG) governments are set to sign a five-year Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on agricultural cooperation, specifically for rice, this 2018. “We are aiming to advance the rice industry growth of PNG and the Philippines by developing hybrid varieties, investing in infrastructure, postharvest technologies and agribusiness, and organizing agricultural research, education and training,” said PhilRice Executive Director Dr. Sailila Abdula . The agreement is a […]

A PhilRice-led study titled Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for high-temperature tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.) won the Outstanding Scientific Paper Award during the 39th National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST Phils) Annual Scientific Meeting held at Manila Hotel, July 12-13. Researchers of the study Dr. Norvie L. Manigbas and Jupiter L. Grospe from PhilRice, and Evaristo A. Abella of the Central Luzon State University identified nine QTLs containing […]

In a typhoon-prone country like the Philippines, farm investments are always at risk! Dr. Ricardo Orge, a PhilRice engineer-scientist, has developed an innovation, called kwebo, to address this quandary. Orge said kwebo is an easy-to-construct, typhoon-resistant structure, requiring minimal involvement of skilled workers. The term kwebo is from two Filipino words, kweba (cave) and kubo (nipa hut) combined. It denotes a farm structure that has the strength of a cave, […]

  Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija – The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has bred two promising hybrid lines that show outstanding high-yielding performance and resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB). Joanne D. Caguiat, PhilRice hybrid project leader, said most of the previously released hybrid rice varieties lack sufficient resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB), one of the common rice plant diseases that can cause a yield loss of […]