Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija –  To help intensify the initiatives of the Department of Agriculture in promoting hybrid rice to help the farmers to be more competitive, PhilRice highlighted the technology through a theater performance during the Institute’s wet season field day, September 14-15. “We conducted focused group discussions with the farmers and used their experiences in conceptualizing the story on hybrid rice. The farmers also joined in […]

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 3 donated one unit each of rice transplanter and combine harvester to PhilRice, September 5 to help promote competitiveness among farmers through mechanization. PhilRice will work together with DA in implementing the rice mechanization program to enable small farmers improve their productivity through appropriate and efficient mechanization technologies. The memorandum of agreement between PhilRice and DA-Region 3 was signed during the 30th National […]

The PhilRice community deeply mourns the passing away of Dr. Gelia Tagumpay Castillo, 89, National Scientist and longest-serving trustee of the Institute. She succumbed to acute respiratory failure on August 5. Her ashes now rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Ma’am Gelia dedicated her life to the service of Filipino farmers as a rural sociologist. She was in the Board of Trustees of PhilRice since December 1986 and served […]

A PhilRice study found that unpolished pigmented rice (red or black rice) has high phytochemical contents and health-promoting properties making it a healthier alternative to white rice. In the study titled Healthier red and black rice: Not your ordinary staple food, 45 red rice and 25 black rice varieties collected from various provinces in the country were compared with white rice (Enolayan variety). They were characterized in terms of proximate […]

Eight research teams of PhilRice won awards in the 47th Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines (FCSSP) Scientific Conference held in Iloilo City, June 13-16. The PhilRice Rainfed lowland/stress environment rice breeding and variety development team received the CSSP Achievement Award in technology development. Led by its principal breeder Dr. Nenita Desamero, the team was recognized for their contributions in developing high-yielding, pest-resistant, and good-quality breeding lines for […]

Do you still remember the iconic line of the late Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) in the film Batas Sa Aking Kamay? Playing the role as a police officer, FPJ said, “Di ako kumakain ng bigas, Major. Sinasaing ko muna para maging kanin bago ko kainin.” Three decades since the film’s release, Senator Grace Poe, FPJ’s daughter, found herself at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to visit her iconic father […]

Midsayap, Cotabato – PhilRice Midsayap trained the Ulamas (muslim religious leaders) in Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to become rice advocates, April 3-7. In the one-week training, PhilRice equipped 20 Ulamas with technical knowledge on integrated crop management systems, such as the Palayamanan Plus and PalayCheck System.  Aside from attending technical lectures, they also conducted field demonstrations of various farming techniques technologies, such as the agroecosystem analysis, alternate wetting […]

About 1,000 farmers learned agricultural entrepreneurship during the dry season Lakbay Palay hosted by PhilRice, March 30-31. With the theme Ang magsasakang madiskarte, negosyante, the event aims to prepare farmers to be ‘agripreneurs’ and taught them the various rice-based production systems in which they could earn additional income. The Institute invited Leticia Basubas, owner of MSC Food Products to inspire farmers to venture in agricultural entrepreneurship and teach them basic […]

A prestigious award-giving body recognized PhilRice for its communication initiatives and writers during the 2016 Binhi Awards held at the Makati Diamond Residences, March 22. The Binhi Awards is an annual prestigious competition organized by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ) in cooperation with the San Miguel Corporation to recognize the efforts of the country’s agriculture and environment journalists. Sonny P. Pasiona, a writer of the PhilRice Development Communication Division, […]

Ten Muslim farmers from Butig, Lanao del Sur participated in a three-day training program titled Technology updating on hybrid rice production at PhilRice, February 28-March 2. The hybrid rice varieties, mechanical transplanter, integrated pest management, and best farming practices were introduced to the farmer-participants. They also visited the FutureRice farm and seed processing facility of the Institute. “PhilRice experts taught us about the high-yielding varieties such as hybrid rice and the […]