NAGA CITY ― Researchers from PhilRice Los Baños (LB) launched a coffee table book in this City titled Anthropological and socioeconomic characterization of selected indigenous farming communities in the Bicol Region, Oct. 12. The said publication is a result of a 2012-2014 study Anthropological and Socioeconomic Characterization of Bicol Agta Indigenous Peoples (IPs) conducted by PhilRice LB in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) and the […]

Various stakeholders from the rice industry gathered in a policy seminar-workshop to discuss issues and recommendations in the country’s quest for rice security, Sept. 30. With the theme, Toward a rice-secure Philippines: Identifying key priority government interventions in 2017-2022, the activity aimed to identify strategies that could help attain the Department of Agriculture’s three-point agenda under the leadership of Sec. Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol. This includes: fast and effective agricultural technology transfer […]

PhilRice has recently launched two rice paddy arts featuring the images of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo. The PhilRice branch in Los Baños, Laguna has created the “Du30” rice paddy art while the FutureRice Farm at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija featured Duterte and Robredo’s faces. This project called Rice Up Pilipinas is “a creative way to call for unity among Filipinos to become […]

As La Niña is forecasted to hit the country this year, there’s a heightened need to develop technologies that will enable the adaptability and economic stability of rice-based farming communities. Experts from the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have evaluated the Sorjan cropping system in response to climate change, to maximize farm productivity, and ensure food security and regular income of farming families. Sorjan, developed by Indonesian farmers, is a […]

In the cooking contest, Going Greens: A cook-off showdown, ten pairs of culinary enthusiasts showed their prowess in preparing brown rice and local green leafy vegetables, July 26. Each participating team was tasked to prepare Filipino dishes from a mystery basket filled with leafy vegetables such as pechay, spinach, camote tops, bitter gourd leaves, string bean leaves, chili pepper leaves, and upland water spinach. To support the Institute’s campaign on […]

written by Sonny P. Pasiona   “Why should we offer half rice? We barely mind rice wastage. What matters more is we get more sales with full rice.” In a rice-loving country, these words are what some food establishments would argue why they refuse to offer half-cup of rice in their menus. But in the tuna capital of the Philippines, the local government is turning tables to promote a responsible […]

Three teams of PhilRice experts won awards in the 46th Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) Scientific Conference held in General Santos City, June 13-18. The study titled Potential of Algae as Aquaculture Feed Ingredient won the Best Paper award for downstream category. It was authored by researchers from the Rice Chemistry and Food Science Division (RCFSD) of PhilRice, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – National Freshwater […]

LIGAO CITY, ALBAY ― The PhilRice branch in Bicol is training farmers on agripreneurship in partnership with the local government of this city. The training program that started in January this year is in support of the Institute’s Rural Transformation Movement (RTM) to develop and promote rice-based enterprises. Key components of the program are record-keeping and marketing. Around 30 participants were taught on how to record their expenses such as […]

The PhilRice Text Center (PTC) posted a 47.3% increase in client registration nationwide for the first quarter of 2016. Data shows that from 18,924 registered clients in March 2015, it jumped to 27,883 as of March 31, 2016. PTC is a digital platform that provides daily consultation services to rice farmers through call and short messaging services (SMS). It also caters to students, extension workers, researchers, and other stakeholders who […]

What happened to your crops? “Failure.” With those painfully heavy word, Mangansakan T. Kasan, 68, described the miserable fate of his rice crops brought by the inescapable El Niño.   Fallen yield Kasan of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao is one of the farmers severely affected by this natural phenomenon. At his two-hectare farm, his normal harvest of 280 bags of rice were trimmed down to 125, barely enough to pay for […]