Dr. Sailila E. Abdula, acting executive director of PhilRice, has designated three acting deputy executive directors (DED) and three acting branch directors, effective 1 January 2018. Deputies Former PhilRice Agusan Director, Abner T. Montecalvo, has been designated as acting DED for Administrative Services and Finance. Montecalvo is a three-time Outstanding Official awardee of PhilRice—in 2002, 2013, and 2016—and has been in the management in different capacities for 22 years. He […]

Becoming an agriculturist was not Ruben Balagtas Miranda’s (a.k.a. Sir RBM) childhood dream. Yet, he grew to love the profession that made him serve the rice farmers for a lifetime. Sir RBM barely knew anything about farming prior to entering the university. What he did was to follow the footsteps of his sister. “My elder sister was an agriculture graduate, and I saw that she was doing well in her […]

To work with scientists, attend conferences abroad, and serve as a resource person in training programs are among the opportunities she never expected to achieve prior to joining PhilRice Central Experiment Station in Nueva Ecija. Ms. Josefina F. Ballesteros also known as “Fruity”, is a Science Research Specialist who works on market research in support to rice-based product development. At 24, she now leads a project and two market studies […]

Engr. Evangeline Barroga Sibayan, 62, has served the agriculture industry for 37 years. Before her retirement this year, she shares some memories that made her career remarkable as well as some plans for herself and her family. Vangie is a Supervising Science Research Specialist at our Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division (REMD). Prior to joining PhilRice, she was an agricultural engineer, for 10 years, at Maligaya Rice Research and Training […]

Engr. Eden C. Gagelonia has developed quite a number of machines for rice cultivation. She is a Supervising Science Research Specialist at our Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division (REMD). For almost 30 years in the rice engineering sector, she has published numerous research papers and has served as technical reviewer of many of our publications for farmers and other rice stakeholders. Engineering feat She started work at PhilRice in 1989. […]

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

Photo courtesy: Edwin C. Martin In a study conducted by a team of PhilRice’s weed science researchers, it appears that the growth and development of weedy rice are higher than cultivated rice. It also matures earlier than cultivated rice and its seedlings can survive even in adverse environmental conditions. Weedy rice is a type of a grain-bearing weed, considered as a pest, which reduces rice yields, affects quality of rice […]

Often, we only see people get their awards, but we hardly learn about their stories. We know that someone must have done something extraordinary, but we do not always get the chance to know more about the person’s motivations for doing good. This year’s Dangal ng PhilRice Outstanding Junior Development Worker, Jose Arnel E. Cordova, 35, shares his stories as a development staff member in PhilRice Negros, which serves farmers […]

A PhilRice Midsayap study conducted in General Santos City has found that Tubigan 22 (NSIC Rc240) can yield an average of 7.07 t/h, which is higher than its 6.4 t/ha average yield at the national level. Of the 29 released varieties tested, Tubigan 22 was the best-performing variety as it had the highest spikelet fertility and highest number of filled grains and spikelets per panicle. These traits are among the […]

Cheaper crop establishment cost, reduced seeding rate, and more accurate seeding compared with manual broadcasting are the main features of the new multi-purpose seeder (MP seeder) for direct seeding. During the field trials for the MP seeder last year, PhilRice engineers saw impressive results especially for farmers in the rainfed areas. “The machine is attached to a handtractor as it is common among farmers and many of them own a […]