To address the needs of agriculture stakeholders to have easier access to science-based rice information, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) launched new social media accounts during its Farmers Field Day dubbed as the Lakbay Palay in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, March 20-21.
The Institute’s page on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@philricetv/shorts) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@rice_matters) were created based on stakeholders’ demand for rice information on said platforms.
In a survey conducted on the DA-PhilRice Facebook page, 87% of the 1,205 respondents indicated that they search for rice information on YouTube while in another poll, the majority of over 200 respondents expressed an interest in obtaining farming tips on TikTok.
“The spread of science misinformation can lead to the adoption of harmful practices, which can have unfavorable effects on crop yield, farmer income, and food security. We established these pages as credible sources, in which information was checked and based on rigorous research of rice experts,” said Charisma Love Gado-Gonzales, project lead of PhilRice’s Production and Sharing of Rice S&T through Strategic Media.
Virginia Rihad, the president of the Casongsong Farmers Association in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, stated that as a lead officer, she bears the responsibility of disseminating the latest information on rice production, which she often sources from social media.
“We wanted to know more about the technologies we read on print, and videos provided us with an interactive platform to deepen our understanding and see these technologies in action,” she said.
Meanwhile, farmer Jemalyn Ranjo from Morong, Bataan, expressed her enthusiasm for the PhilRice videos on social media as these will make farming more attractive to the younger generation.
“Through the videos, the youth see that agriculture has significantly improved through machines, making farming much easier,” she said.
Ranzcel Lanz Reyes of Bataan Peninsula State University, expressed his excitement about the “new noble cause” of TikTok as he believes it serves a dual purpose of reaching more farmers and engaging the youth who will sustain agriculture.
Conducted twice a year, Lakbay Palay has also showcased the latest varieties and technologies to more than 1000 participants during the two-day event.
