The woman of rice, strong and determined, completes her day balancing farm work and domestic chores. On ordinary days, she invests an average of 7 hours; she works for 11 hours during planting and harvestings days.

Labor, a price we have to pay for being humans, is engraved in her entirety. She spends two days more than the man in harvesting and about three days in drying the rice grain. The man, who is outnumbered 2% during planting season, devotes more time than the woman during land clearing, plowing, and harrowing.

What is more pleasurable than eating the food the woman we love prepares? How sweeter is it if she, too, helps produce our staple food? The woman-farmer in Quezon and Zamboanga del Norte is involved in more than half of the 51 farm activities from land preparation until selling of rice. Her counterpart in Pampanga, Agusan del Norte, Compostela Valley, Laguna, and Zamboanga del Sur does 3 to 6 segments […]

A senior research associate based in a top university called for the promotion of mental health in the workplace, especially for the working women. In her talk at Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Feb. 27, Creselda O. Doble of Ateneo de Manila University, emphasized that the women are prone to mental health illness owing to their multitasking roles at home and the office. […]

Women-farmers spend more time and receive lower wage than their male counterparts, an exhibit of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija showed.

Despite equal work, Tanzo’s study on cross-country hired farm labor and wage differences showed that women-farmers earn less than the men by around P108 a day. In Nueva Ecija, the women-farmers’ wage is around P50 less than the men during crop establishment and P216 during threshing.

Rona T. Dollentas is a soil scientist. She has greatly contributed in producing the guide books for different soil types in the Philippines.

Start them young. The Rice Science Museum of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recently opened its new exhibition, titled, Wonderful World of Rice, in an attempt to engage the youth as agriculture advocates.

With the women actively involved in majority of agricultural work, PhilRice is showcasing farm equipment for women in an exhibit.