All that is needed is a confirmation of the PhilRice proposal by the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) board before the Philippine government endorses it to the government of Japan for consideration under its general grant-aid program.
The construction of PhilRice re-search buildings and the improve-ment of its central experiment station into a world-class facility as well as the provision of state-of-the-art labo-ratory equipment and facilities du-ring the time of the first executive director, Dr. Santiago R. Obien, were made possible through a grant-in-aid from Japan.
Since 1991, the Japanese govern-ment, through JICA (Japan Interna-tional Cooperation Agency), has been also continuously providing financial and technical support to PhilRice by way of technical cooperation projects.
PhilRice executive director Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian said the new grant aims to strengthen the R&D capabilities of PhilRice R&D centers in developing and promoting loca-tion-specific technologies in strategic areas in the Philippines. This will enable the agency to address more effectively the goals of improving rice productivity to increase farmers’ income and boost national rice production, as well as reduce poverty in the rural areas.
The seven R&D centers to be covered by the project are those in the following locations: Batac, Ilocos Norte; Murcia, Negros Occidental; Midsayap, North Cotabato; Los Baños, Laguna; RTR, Agusan del Norte; Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; and San Mateo, Isabela.
The project is to be supported with a budget of P600 million from the go-vernment of Japan and a Philippine counterpart of P118 million covering taxes and duties, banking fees, and operation and maintenance costs.
The grant will enable the construc-tion of facilities such as farm opera-tions and mechanization, crop service and office/laboratory buildings, seed storage, and the provision of laboratory and farm equipment.
Dr. Sebastian said the proposed facilities will support the implemen-tation of two ongoing technical cooperation projects between JICA and PhilRice: TCP 3 — development and promotion of location-specific integrated high-yielding rice and rice-based technologies; and TCP 4 — rice-based farming systems training and support program for the autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao. TCP 3 is being implemented in Nueva Ecija, Ilocos and Agusan provinces.
"With the new grant-in-aid project, these R&D centers will be able to respond more effectively and carry out their role more efficiently," he said. – Sosimo Ma. Pablico