The Philippines has completed Korea-supported upgrades in seed processing, storage, and digital inventory systems aimed at improving the quality of rice seeds and strengthening the monitoring of rice stocks for distribution and buffer supply.
The improvements were implemented through the project “Improving the Rice Supply Chain to Ensure Quality of Seeds and Milled Rice for Distribution and Buffer Stock in the Philippines,” a collaboration involving the Philippine government, the Republic of Korea, and the National Food Authority (NFA).
The project established seed processing facilities, cold storage warehouses, seed hauling equipment, and a faster rice inventory data transmission system to support seed cleaning, drying, screening, testing, packaging, storage, and monitoring.
Completed facilities include a seed processing and storage complex at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, a warehouse with cold storage and logistics equipment at PhilRice Isabela, and a storage facility at PhilRice Batac.
The project also upgraded the hardware of the Rice Seed Information System and NFA’s monitoring platforms to improve information management for rice seed production, distribution, and inventory monitoring.
“The new seed facilities and training systems will serve as a stepping stone to take the Philippines’ agricultural technology infrastructure to the next level,” said Shin Jae Kim, director of the Global Agricultural Development Division of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
A final evaluation by Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc. also showed improved satisfaction among seed growers in Nueva Ecija, with ratings increasing from 80% at baseline to 88% in the final survey.
Implemented in partnership with the NFA and the Korean government through the Global Agriculture Policy Institute, the project also recommended strengthening the Rice Seed Information System into a national seed intelligence platform to improve the management and use of rice seed information.
Building on the project’s gains, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea are advancing the proposed Digital Agriculture Transformation through Enhanced Technology (DA-TECH) project, which will expand the use of digital technologies, data analytics, capacity building, and automated systems in the rice sector in collaboration with NFA and the Department of Agriculture’s Masagana Rice Industry Development Program.
