Persons deprived of liberty (PDL) from the Cabadbaran City District Jail in Agusan del Norte are being upskilled in mushroom propagation and cultivation as a livelihood source.  “The knowledge and skills gained by our PDL in this three-year partnership with DA-PhilRice Agusan will help them in their reintegration into society, particularly in earning income and supporting their families outside of our bureau’s custody,” Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) […]

The Department of Agriculture (DA) heightened the annual celebration of National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) by establishing “BeRICEponsible” as a theme starting this year until 2028. Under Proclamation No. 524, s. 2014, NRAM is held every November to raise public awareness on rice, tackle malnutrition and poverty, and achieve rice self-sufficiency. This year’s celebration will kick off on Nov. 3 at Liwasang Aurora, Quezon City Memorial Circle. Dr. Hazel V. […]

Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) fulfilled its 2017-2022 strategic plan as the institute celebrated its 37th anniversary, Nov. 3-4. Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the committee on agriculture, food, and agrarian reform, said that DA-PhilRice has “outsmarted the pandemic when [it] employed strategies to ensure that farmers receive their certified seeds every cropping season and are capacitated through blended learning approaches despite the community restrictions and lockdowns. […]

An international award-giving body has recognized the Department of Agriculture- Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) Magazine as the 2022 Best Free Food Publications. Hallbars Sustainability Research Institute cited the quarterly-published knowledge product for featuring healthy rice and rice-based recipes that are easy to prepare and cook. In its recent issue, DA-PhilRice Magazine published rice nougat and brownies as snack and dessert ideas. It has also featured bibingka made of black […]

Participants in the Lakbay Palay hosted by Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Batac City, Ilocos Norte, had reported that they learned ways to gain savings during the activity, Oct. 26. With the theme, “Bukid Tipid Tips, Subukan!”, the field day highlighted cost-reducing technologies to more than 200 farmers and extension workers.  “In Bauang, La Union, we spend around PhP45,000 for a hectare. We were impressed that machines […]

Six years after its revival, the interactive web-based system called PalayStat, is gaining more users registering 78,172 unique page views in October this year. Developed by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), the website (https://palaystat.philrice.gov.ph/) took a huge leap from only having 1,442 unique page views in 2016. Researcher Rochelle Caliwagan said that she uses the platform in consolidating data for provinces that her team covered and when […]

In support of the aspiration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Jr., the SanGlad RiceBIS Farmers Association sold milled rice at PhP20/kilo in a recent Lakbay Palay of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) in Bual Norte, Midsayap. Merily Ortega, president of SanGlad, said that with the guidance of the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) program of DA-PhilRice from production to marketing, they managed to produce palay and sell […]

Rice farmers were impressed by the ride-on precision seeder that is showcased in a field day and forum held in Sta. Cruz, Zambales, Oct. 13. The said field day introduced the precision seeder to Zambales farmers through a demo wherein the machine seeded about 2ha of rice field with NSIC Rc 222. The precision rice seeder is a self-propelled planting equipment that accurately drops seeds at a precise depth and […]

A monitoring system developed for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed Program is awarded as the country’s Best in Future of Connectedness in the 2022 Future Enterprise Awards by the International Data Corporation (IDC). IDC, a global provider of market intelligence and advisory and information and communications technology (ICT)-related services, said the “award is given to organizations who transformed their system digitally to ensure that people, things, applications and […]

Farm machinery introduced in an ongoing training program under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund were perceived gender-neutral by the women participants. “The machines are comfortable and easy to use. A lot of female farmers I know also want to have their own rice machinery because it makes farming easier,” Lorica Avila of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, said in a hands-on activity on Oct. 5 in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. […]