As a contribution to the country’s bid for rice security, Korea’s Official Development Aid grants the Philippines with facilities that will improve the Philippine rice supply chain.
Under the project, “Improving the rice supply chain to ensure quality of rice seeds and milled rice for distribution and buffer stocks in the Philippines,” Korea will allot USD 4.5M until 2026 to enhance rice seed distribution in the country.
As one of its components, the project will fund the construction of a rice seed processing facility and warehouse at the Central Experiment Station of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija. Storage facilities will also be established in PhilRice stations in Ilocos Norte and Isabela.
“PhilRice produces foundation and registered seeds, which are distributed to research and production centers of the Department of Agriculture (DA), state universities and colleges, and seed growers. These facilities help ensure the high quality and viability of seeds and reduce grain losses. Seed distribution is also fast tracked with these facilities,” said Fidela P. Bongat, head of PhilRice’s Business Development Division.
The project will also provide hardware and software for PhilRice’s Rice Seed Information System (RSIS) and to the National Food Authority (NFA). RSIS is an ICT-based platform for collecting, consolidating, and disaggregating near real-time rice seed production and distribution data at the municipal, provincial, and national levels for sound decision making of policymakers and key agencies.
Training programs will also be available for the rice farmers to enhance their knowledge and skills on modern rice production.
To promote efficient project implementation, proponents including Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs; DA; and NFA will hold an inception meeting on June 16 in Quezon City. The Korea Rural Community Corporation, Global Agricultural Policy Institute, Nature E&T Korea, and Orient Integrated Development Consultants, Inc. also organized the event.
