DA’s Regional Field Office in Region 8 will initiate a project that will benefit rice farmers in saline-prone areas in Eastern Visayas this wet season. In a discussion, Dr. Victoria Lapitan, PhilRice Bicol branch director, presented the branch’s R4D projects such as the scaling integrated crop management for saline-prone rice ecosystem, rice intensification and sustainability enhancement for water-scarce rice ecosystems in Samar, and the Malusog Rice Program. Regional Technical Director […]

PhilRice Los Baños evaluates available varieties to ensure that these are high-performing location-specific rice for the Southern Tagalog Mainland. The station and DA-Regional Field Office CALABARZON stated that the study, which will be conducted for 1-2 years, assesses the performance of rice under irrigated, rainfed, and saline-prone ecosystems. The best performing varieties will be recommended to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as bases for the varieties to be distributed […]

PhilRice in Bual Norte, Midsayap is set to conduct knowledge sharing and learning (KSL) series on pest management and ecological engineering in three provinces. As the Institute’s pest management center, the station will promote the recommendations this second quarter in Zamboanga del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, and Cotabato. “We will conduct the KSL series in provinces that were not previously reached by the same interventions from the Institute. We are hoping […]

Mothers vlogged their children’s healthy meals in an advocacy run dubbed, “Malusog Moms: Nanay Hacks Dinner.” Launched during the National Women’s Month by PhilRice in San Mateo, Isabela, mothers shared their recipes to the public. Mothers who participated receive 10kg of Malusog rice, a biofortified rice enriched with beta-carotene. It is a unique rice variety bred to address vitamin A deficiency, a prevalent problem among Filipinos affecting about 2 million […]

The Gender and Development Focal Point System introduces the new recurring theme of the National Women’s Month celebration, which will be used from this year until 2028. The theme, “WE for gender equality and inclusive society,” was presented in an “edutainment” approach including ‘GAD You Know’ trivia, #PurpleWednesday, and #PurpleYourIcon advocacy. Staff were oriented on gender sensitivity, GAD mainstreaming, and gender equality and women empowerment to ensure that PhilRice projects […]

DA-PhilRice is ripe for the next years after executing its 2017-2022 strategic plan. During the past five years, the Institute has increased productivity and profitability by developing 28 new rice varieties with impressive characteristics, corresponding management recommendations, and farm machines. In 2021, it contributed to the country’s record-breaking palay output of 19.96 m metric tons. The Institute and its partners also secured the approval of Golden Rice, a new type […]

DA-PhilRice Isabela harvested Golden Rice, now officially called Malusog Rice, in October to November in Cagayan Valley. Isabela farmers who are active partners in the program are delighted to have been part of a momentous event. Seed growers and farmer cooperatives have expressed their excitement over the on-going propagation of Malusog Rice, which they hope to be available soon for commercialization. “After harvesting, I want to plant it again, but […]

In celebration of the National Kidney Month, more than 100 personnel of DA-PhilRice registered to help patients of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) during the 2022 Blood Donation Drive, which was led by the Community Relations Office, on June 17 at the Crop Biotech Center Multipurpose Hall. Most of them where first-time blood donors.

DA-PhilRice Isabela, in collaboration with the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), has fulfilled the second component of the project on selection and dissemination of elite salt-tolerant rice varieties to AFACI member-countries.  On June 3, a technical briefing and seed distribution of salt-tolerant rice varieties was conducted in Buguey and Sta. Teresita in Cagayan. A total of 125 bags certified seeds of […]

Farmers in Bicol, Negros, and Laguna may now save PhP2,000 to PhP4,000 per hectare by adopting the Balanced Fertilization Strategy (BFS) being promoted under the Abonong Swak: Swak sa badyet, Swak sa palay campaign of the DA-PhilRice in partnership with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). RCEF Units of Bicol and Negros stations introduced combo fertilizer options to farmers in Southern Leyte, […]