Written by Ginalyn V Arbutante   To 50-year old Bernardo G. Paña, the best way to increase farm yields and income is to integrate duck raising into rice farming. “Mang Nardo,” as his friends and neighbors call him, has been into farming for 21 years. According to him, rice-duck farming is an effective system to maximize resources in a farm, which eventually results to increased profits. Mang Nardo said that […]

Written by Charisma Love B Gado   The gun, bomb, and rope. For Evelyn Martin, a househelp and grandmother of three aged from 5 to 9 months, these symbols are enough for her to never try Genetically Modified products. “Why would I eat that food if these posters show me that GMO is bad for my health? I might get crazy and kill myself through gun or rope like in […]

Written by the Administrator   If we owe the future to our children, then why are we afraid of tools that have the potential to help make the world a better place for them? Instead of working together to utilize science for the welfare of all, a “war” had been subtly fought in the field of biotechnology since scientists at the University of Washington developed the first genetically modified (GM) […]

Written by Jaime A Manalo IV   There is a massive internet information about the perceived horror related to patenting life forms, plants included. In her 1998 book, Biopiracy: The plunder of nature and knowledge, Indian activist Vandana Shiva explores the struggles of Third World countries to protect their crops and indigenous knowledge. Shiva asks thought-provoking questions in her monograph such as “Can life be made?” and “Can life be […]

Written by Christina G Abadilla-Frediles   As the scientific community is assuring and affirming the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops, especially corn, an often rice-based crop, more farmers are supporting the use of GM seeds. They are asserting that in knowing the best crop and seed to plant, farmers themselves have the right to choose. Such is the case in Oriental Mindoro. Although the Mindoro Ecological and Sustainable Agriculture […]

Written by Maritha C Manubay   Researchers at PhilRice have determined that the production of hybrid rice seeds is also dependent largely on timing, particularly the flowering stage. The couple Democrito B. Rebong II and Anna Theresa Isabel O. Rebong, who are both researchers at PhilRice, in their study The flowering behavior of NSIC Rc204H (Mestizo 20) parent line for optimum synchronization and high seed yield, focused on the flowering […]

Written by Maritha C Manubay   Upland farming in the uplands of Cagayan can be made sustainable through intercropping in place of the current practice of rice monoculture, according to the PhilRice Isabela Station. “There is a need to balance both environment protection and economic development,” said Helen R. Pasicolan, PhilRice Isabela Development Coordinator. With the growing demand for food, some upland farmers now resort to intensive farming methods that […]

Written by Christina A Frediles   Farmers and their organizations are empowered if they actively participate in different activities of a certain project. This observation is based on a thesis paper, “Farmers’ Participation in the Development of Location-Specific Technologies Towards Empowerment in Nueva Ecija,” which covered 103 farmer-respondents who were participants of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-PhilRice Technical Cooperation Project (TCP3). The project was developed to identify location specific […]

Written by Jaime A Manalo IV   In December 2012, PhilRice started its collaboration with the Technical Vocational (TecVoc) Unit of the Bureau of Secondary Schools of the Department of Education. The partnership is under the Memorandum of Understanding between DepEd and the DA, to which PhilRice is attached. Mobilising high school students to serve as information providers (infomediaries) is the main aim of the collaboration. Under the Infomediary Project, […]

Written by Charisma Love B Gado   Farmers need not guess the type and amount of fertilizer and its time of application with the Nutrient Manager (http://webapps.irri.org/nm/ph/) developed by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Nutrient Manager is a computer-based decision support tool featuring fertilizer recommendations based on farmers’ field conditions, varieties, and current practices. Under the Improving livelihoods and overcoming poverty in the drought-prone lowlands of South and Southeast Asia […]