The Department of Agriculture and its partner institutions are pilot-testing a new training curriculum that aims to mold new breed of extension workers called AgRiDOC or Agricultural Development Officers of the Community.  As a pilot-test to 25 extensionists in Luzon, the training curriculum consists of six modules covering principles and values of transformational leadership and development work, interactions with agriculture advocates, coping mechanisms in the extension system, and modern technologies […]

A season-run Farmers’ Field School (FFS) had improved the practices and knowledge of rice growers in Victoria, Tarlac.  Charisma Love Gado, senior science research specialist at Philippine Rice Research Institute, found that farmer-cooperators of an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)-funded project became more skilled, knowledgeable, and confident after project implementation.  According to Gado, the rice sector banks on extension as a pathway in increasing productivity as it can influence […]

The Rice Science Museum established in this city is honoring the women rice workers.

To better guide the policymakers on agricultural investments, an agriculture-based model seldom used in rice economic studies is proposed by a returning scholar based at Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. Dr. Marc Jim Mariano, who recently graduated from Monash University in Australia, said that results derived from Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model are useful for the policymakers in knowing the economy-wide effects of […]

Batac City, Ilocos Norte – Gov. Imee R. Marcos sees the recently launched Rice Science Museum here as way to sustain rice productivity, which the province maintained at more than 200 percent.  “[Our country has] a golden past that is dedicated to rice security. We were one of the first importers in Asia…..[Now, there are challenges including youth engagement in agriculture]. The youth wants to be at everything except in […]

Integration and clustering are seen as vital mechanisms to drive progress in rural farming communities; entrepreneurs convened at the Philippine Rice Research Institute said. In a recent seminar conducted at PhilRice in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Ramon Peñalosa Jr., farmer scientist, said that attaining 1M income from agriculture is possible with integration. “Integrated farming is like a 1+1 = 50, it’s a no-brainer. You can go from the […]

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Dr. Hilal Elver (second from left) visited PhilRice in Nueva Ecija to familiarize herself with the Institute’s initiatives in support to UN’s advocacy on food security, Feb. 24. According to the Department of Agriculture Office of the Secretary, Elver is on a mission in the Philippines until February 27, 2015 to assess the efforts being made in the country to achieve […]

Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija – The science community here celebrated the county’s sustained good harvest in an exhibit dubbed as “Bountiful Harvest,” at the Rice Science Museum, Feb. 23.  Early this month, Sec. Proceso J. Alcala of the Department of Agriculture announced that the Philippine agriculture in 2014 has achieved growth despite “strong typhoons that battered some key production areas.” Palay output reached 19 million metric tons or […]

An alternative source that does not rely on fossil fuels was established in Infanta, Quezon to help supply the energy demand in rice and rice-based communities, Jan. 29. Located in Brgy. Binonoan, the bioethanol distillation facility produces energy without negative impact on environment as nipa sap is processed into biofuel for spark-ignition engines that farmers commonly use. Nipa is an indigenous product of Infanta. “This facility built basically produces hydrous […]

Edilberto M. De Luna, assistant secretary of the Department of Agriculture accepts the challenge of leading PhilRice as he was designated officer-in-charge of the institute upon the retirement of former Executive Director Eufemio T. Rasco Jr., Feb. 3.  Rasco turned 65 on Feb. 3. The search for the new executive director is ongoing. “I accept the challenge being assigned as OIC of PhilRice until a new executive director is selected. […]