Various stakeholders from the rice industry gathered in a policy seminar-workshop to discuss issues and recommendations in the country’s quest for rice security, Sept. 30. With the theme, Toward a rice-secure Philippines: Identifying key priority government interventions in 2017-2022, the activity aimed to identify strategies that could help attain the Department of Agriculture’s three-point agenda under the leadership of Sec. Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol. This includes: fast and effective agricultural technology transfer […]

A study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (ACJN) in August 2016 found that biofortified beta carotene rice improves vitamin A intake and reduces the prevalence of vitamin A inadequacy among women and young children. The research was conducted to understand the potential impact of consumption of biofortified β -carotene rice (i.e. Golden Rice) on the prevalence of inadequate vitamin A intake in populations where rice is a […]

Researchers at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have developed an automated classification software to measure chalkiness and identify immature grains in milled rice. In the conventional process, the grain quality evaluation team of the Rice Varietal Improvement Group (RVIG) manually evaluates the physical attributes of 600-800 promising lines every year. They evaluate two sets of 30g milled rice of candidate elite line using their naked eye, a process that […]

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Midsayap, North Cotabato launched new projects and rice-based value-adding enterprises during its annual farmers’ field day, Sept. 20. Over 1,000 farmers learned the latest projects of the station such as the PalaYamaNayon and Technical Cooperation Project 6 of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA TCP 6). PalaYamaNayon promotes diversification, intensification, and integration to boost the income of rice-based farming villages. During the event, […]

PhilRice has recently launched two rice paddy arts featuring the images of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo. The PhilRice branch in Los Baños, Laguna has created the “Du30” rice paddy art while the FutureRice Farm at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija featured Duterte and Robredo’s faces. This project called Rice Up Pilipinas is “a creative way to call for unity among Filipinos to become […]

Development workers at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) reported that agricultural cooperatives are effective partners in technology promotion and rural development. Through the project Empowering farmers’ cooperatives through sustainable promotion of high yielding rice production technologies for progressive rural economy, agricultural cooperatives were recognized as important vehicles in promoting cost-reducing and high-yielding rice and rice-based farming technologies. “What makes agricultural cooperatives unique is that they have a unified action […]

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 […]