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 […]

Written by Charisma Love B Gado   While businesses are promoting goods for less such as dress or travel for less, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) advances products for more – more yield and income.   A promise that could make farmer’s mornings perfect. Noli Estoy, a 43-year-old farmer from Victoria, Tarlac had recently experienced not-so-good morning. He skipped breakfast and was stranded for two hours due to heavy rains […]

Written by Charisma Love B Gado   How do we love our rice? We need not to count the ways as many of us think that we could barely survive a meal without this staple food. But there’s danger with this too much love for rice. Rice and diseases Archaeological records reveal that grains didn’t exist until humans domesticated annual grasses, at most 12,000 years ago. In our country, rice […]

Written by Charisma Love B Gado   There are far memories worth recalling. They enkindle inspiration especially when the country is zealous in achieving its most elusive dream – to be rice-self-sufficient. Old records attest that in 1789, Pampanga exported 28,307 piculs (some 34,000 cavans) of rice with the de facto opening of Manila’s port to world trade. More recently, through Green Revolution campaign, the country attained rice self-sufficiency in […]

Written by Dr Bienvenido O Juliano   Rice is the staple food of half the world. It has a highly digestible starch and good- quality protein among the cereals. Its oil is rich in linoleic acid and unsaponifiable matter (lipid antioxidants). Rice is hypoallergenic (gluten-free), although atopic dermatitis from rice albumin/globulin allergen has been reported in Japan and the US. Eating and cooking quality of rice depends on starch properties: […]