The second planting of Malusog Rice, which took place this 2023 dry cropping season, posted a new record for highest yield at 8.3t/ha. Measured at 14% moisture content, the harvest produced in Ilagan, Isabela bested last season’s 7.8t/ha in Maguindanao.    As of May 31, a combined yield of 71.3 tons of fresh paddy of Malusog Rice has been harvested from this season’s production. Covering 13 hectares, the seeds were harvested […]

Farmers, who are 32-km away from the PhilRice station in Ligao City, Albay, were introduced to Abonong Swak during its recent Lakbay Palay. “We learned a lot from the discussions here, and these will improve our farm practices. We hope we can come back to PhilRice and learn,” said Perla Asaytuno, a 70-year-old farmer. Abonong Swak promotes strategic nutrient management practices to achieve balanced fertilization, which could help farmers lower […]

Farmers expressed interest in adopting mechanized direct dry seeding shown during the Farmers’ Festival in Batac City, Ilocos Norte. One of the featured technologies was the multi-purpose seeder (MP seeder), a device attached to a hand tractor that direct-seeds rice, corn, and mungbean. According to Engr. Richard Pungtilan, Batac City Building Officer and one of the participants, MP seeder is favored because of its seeding rate of 40-60kg/ha. The usual […]

The Esperanza RiceBIS Producers Cooperative (ESRIPCO) in Agusan del Sur will supply the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) Seed Program with certified inbred seeds in the wet season of 2025. The cooperative, which started as an association in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, has already submitted its financial statements as a requirement in the Cooperative Development Authority for obtaining a contract from RCEF. Through the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) Program, […]

PhilRice in Batac City, Ilocos Norte and San Mateo, Isabela were recipients of the Gantimpala Award in May for their teamwork and resourcefulness. PhilRice Batac City assisted Isabela station in the prompt delivery of more than 300 bags of hybrid seeds when its truck broke down in Sanchez Mira, Cagayan, which is about seven hours away from the delivery point in Abra. “We explored all strategies simultaneously: repair, rescue, and […]

An arboretum has been continuously maintained for three decades in PhilRice central experiment station (CES) with an aim to raise public awareness on biodiversity and ecological practices. Established in 1991, PhilRice CES maintains a 16-ha land area devoted to the protection of 71 tree species, the majority being native species. “The rich tapestry here is a testament to the Institute’s commitment to building livable, sustainable public spaces for generations even […]

Farmers in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte have found a new income stream through oyster mushroom production they recently learned from a training on rice-based crop diversification or Palayamanan. Joemarie Calulot, one of the farmer-trainees, said that they used to earn a monthly income of PhP10,000- PhP12,000 from rice farming and vegetable production. When they began producing and selling oyster mushrooms and fruiting bags, their monthly income increased to PhP18,000-PhP20,000. Calulot, one […]

Researchers in DA-PhilRice Agusan are collaborating with Surigao del Sur farmers in identifying the effects of laterite runoff or red soil from mining sites in the rice fields.  A package of technology recommendations will be released based on the data to help farmers enhance productivity and reduce their production costs. Farmers’ survey and field validation with 15 affected farmers were conducted to characterize the soil, evaluate crop productivity, and identify socio-economic […]

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 […]