Key officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) updated the farmers on the agency’s targets for the next six years during the recently concluded Lakbay Palay at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija, Sept. 15-16. Speaking to over 1,000 farmer participants, DA’s Director for field operations Roy M. Abaya and National Rice Program senior technical adviser and PhilRice’s first Executive Director Dr. Santiago R. Obien said that […]

More than 2,000 youth attended an exhibit conducted by the Rice Science Museum in a mall in Cauayan City, Isabela as part of the country’s recent celebration of the Heritage Month. Dubbed as Tawid, the Iluko word for heritage, the mobile museum exhibit aimed to increase knowledge on Isabela’s rice heritage and production history. Danilo B. Tumamao, provincial agriculturist, said that despite the province’s accomplishments on rice farming, most of […]

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T. Dela Peña acknowledged the outputs of rice research and development and the industry’s role in helping the country’s rice sector, September 7. “In a country where rice is a staple food, nothing compares for an ordinary citizen than to be assured of having an affordable, accessible, high quality, and nutritious rice at all times,” Dela Peña said during the opening of […]

A key official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) challenged researchers and scientists to design and develop technologies that are reachable to the hands of the Filipino farmers. During the opening ceremony of the 29th National Rice R&D Conference held at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), DA Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo Serrano recognized the technologies developed by Filipino researchers but emphasized the importance of technologies’ accessibility. “The […]

Around 500 researchers, scientists, members of the academe, students, farmers, and other stakeholders will gather at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija for the 29th National Rice R&D Conference, September 7-8, 2016. With the theme, R4D and rice security, the 2016 conference will focus on plans and strategies for attaining rice security. “With this conference, we aim to get feedback and advice from […]

Dr. Sailila Estilong Abdula, chief science research specialist and designated acting director of the PhilRice Midsayap branch station in North Cotabato, has been handpicked by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol as the Acting Executive Director of PhilRice effective August 2016. Abdula, 44, son of West Patadon, Matalam, North Cotabato obtained his PhD in Agriculture, major in plant genetics, from Chungbuk National University in Korea in 2012. As a rice breeder, he […]

The Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM) received the Outstanding Research and Development Award given by the Los Baños Science Community Foundation Inc.’s (LBSCFI) during the 2016 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW), July 29, 2016. LBSCFI celebrated the NSTW through Syensaya, a science festival celebrated in Los Baños, Laguna with the support of its 22-member agencies and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). The paper Mapping and monitoring rice […]

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 […]

A book assessing the country’s provincial rice security was launched during the 38th National Academy of Science and Technology’s (NAST) annual scientific meeting at the Manila Hotel, July 13, 2016. Titled Rice self-sufficiency under the lens of provincial analysis: A new way of looking at the national rice security, the book analyzes the provincial data on rice production, harvested area, and yield from 2000 to 2013 to assess provincial rice […]