A local rice farmers’ group in Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya, has secured a business deal with a non-government organization (NGO) that provides disaster relief, with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice).
In an agreement, St. Vincent Parish Multipurpose Cooperative (SVPMPC) will supply 6,000 bags (25kg/bag) of well-milled rice to the People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network, Inc. (PDRRN). The coop has already delivered the first 1,000 bags on Nov. 14, and is expected to complete the order by the end of this year. PDRRN will pick up the milled rice from the coop’s warehouse.
“This is the first time we received an order with such a huge volume. It’s a significant deal in terms of our rice sales,” said SVPMPC Chair Vincent G. Gonzales, 41.
Gonzales said that before joining the PhilRice project called RiceBIS or Rice Business Innovations System, the cooperative used to sell their milled rice products to households, partner cooperatives, and private groups, but their markets were not regular. The cooperative has over 6,000 members comprising 70-80% farmers.
“This intervention of DA-PhilRice in our marketing activities revived our aspirations. We hope to establish more sustainable markets so that they can pursue their core advocacy of helping our fellow farmer-members to have a direct market,” he said.
Diadem Gonzales-Esmero, RiceBIS program lead, said the partnership of SVPMPC and PDRRN is more than just a profitable venture, but also a hopeful gesture for Filipino consumers.
“Rice is an important part of Filipino culture. Through this collaboration, we hope that future disaster relief operations will somehow empower and assure their beneficiaries that the relief goods, especially the rice that they receive, are safe and high-quality. The same goes for every rice consumer who will support local rice farmers,” she said.
RiceBIS is also currently facilitating the linkage of SVPMPC with other potential markets in Laguna and Baguio City.
According to Ofelia C. Malonzo, RiceBIS 2.0 assistant program lead and coordinator of PhilRice Isabela, apart from the marketing assistance, they are also eyeing the group’s capacity enhancement and certification to the Philippine Good Agricultural Practices (PhilGAP).
“We partnered with the DA Regional Field Office 2 and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority Region 2 in the conduct of the PhilGAP training. Through this, we hope to further capacitate the SVPMPC in producing high-quality and safe milled rice for their clients,” she said.
Apart from RiceBIS 2.0, SVPMPC is also one of the partner cooperatives of DA-PhilRice and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). They have received 200-ha worth of certified seeds of varieties with good eating quality, including the NSIC Rc 218SR and Rc 160, through the RCEF Seed Program, and a rice processing facility through the RCEF Mechanization Program.
