PhilRice achieves plenty in its first 25 years of existence

MANILA, Philippines - Twenty-six modern, high-yielding rice varieties bred.

A total of 172,221 extension workers, farmers, and others trained in scientific methods of rice production.

A number of viable technologies generated and transferred to farmers.

Many publications, some award-winning, churned out.

And many more.

These have been chalked up by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) during its first 25 years of existence.

And as it observes its silver anniversary on Nov. 5, it looks forward with confidence and optimism to a similarly or more productive future.

PhilRice was established in 1985 to develop a national rice research program to sustain and further improve the gains already made in rice production, improve the income and economic condition of small rice farmers, and expand rural employment opportunities to promote the people’s general welfare.

It began when the University of the Philippines (UP) president, now Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, conceived a national research institution that would address the country’s rice problems.

It was then the thinking of some that there was no need for such an entity since the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), established in Los Baños, Laguna, in 1960, was already here.

But Angara, now regarded as the “Father of PhilRice,” asserted that the institute was necessary so that it would absorb the technologies developed by IRRI and transfer them to Filipino farmers, aside from doing research and development (R&D) activities itself. IRRI works with national programs and does not directly serve farmers, which is the responsibility of national agencies.

During PhilRice’s conceptualization stage, Angara teamed up with then Agricultural Minister Salvador H. Escudero III (now congressman of Sorsogon) and Deputy Minister Domingo Panganiban. Thus, PhilRice came into being through Executive Order 1061 issued by then President Marcos on Nov. 5, 1985.

Since the institute began actual operation in 1986, under Executive Director Santiago R. Obien, it has developed and strengthened the national rice R&D network, which is now composed of 56 members that include state universities and colleges, research institutions, and DA agencies.

PhilRice has to date 36 high-yielding hybrid and inbred (ordinary) rice varieties.

Other rice breeders were IRRI, UP Los Baños, DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), SL Agritech, Bayer Crop Science, Monsanto, Syngenta, Bioseed, Hyrice, Pioneer, and Philscat.

The rice varieties were bred by these R&D institutions to suit various agriculture ecosystems – irrigated lowland, rainfed areas, saline zones, cool elevated places, and uplands.

Since 1986, too, PhilRice has trained 172,221 people, mostly extension workers and farmers, in scientific rice production.

New technologies have also been generated and transferred to farmers.

Take Palayamanan (Intensive Rice-based Farming Systems Technology Demonstration Farms), a joint project of PhilRice and Bureau of Agricultural Research.

Before Palayamanan, farms were left to fallow during the dry season after the rice crop was harvested. Through it vegetables and other crops were introduced.

“The production technology interventions introduced in Palayamanan sites increased yields, which resulted in increased income of the farmer-partners,” PhilRice reported.

MOET (Minus-One-Element Technique: Nutrient Deficiency Test for Lowland Rice Soils) has also been developed as a “farmer-friendly” crop diagnostic tool that identifies deficient or limiting nutrients in the soil through a simple pot experiment.

Thousands of MOET kits have been produced and made available to farmers.

PalayCheck, developed with United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) support, is composed of a package of technologies and best practices guiding farmers in every stage of the crop. Its recommendations include use of certified seeds, proper land preparation, synchronous planting, right application of nutrients, and proper practice of water, pest, and harvest management.

For faster dissemination of technologies, PhilRice developed the Short Messaging Service (SMS). Through it, all information seekers (farmers, extension workers, and others) have to do is call PhilRice’s Farmers’ Text Center (FTC) and ask questions through a cellphone.

PhilRice has responded to thousands of text messages on topics concerning not only rice but also vegetables, livestock, and high-value crops.

Over the past 25 years, PhilRice has churned out books, training manuals, journals, newsletters, brochures, posters, and other reading materials.

That PhilRice has evolved into a multi-awarded, “world-class” institution can be attributed to, among other major factors, the support and cooperation of organizations and government, notably the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

JICA funded PhilRice’s modern head office and research facilities in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. It has also been seconding its scientists to PhilRice to work with their counterparts in rice research.

PhilRice, indeed, currently headed by Executive Director Ronilo Beronio, can look back to the past 25 years with price and achievement and to the future with confidence and optimism as the rice research arm of DA, now headed by Secretary Proceso Alcala.

Its exemplary performance can best be summed up by Vice President Jejomar Binay who, in a letter to the agency, stated: “Through the years, PhilRice has been instrumental in the drive to attain food sufficiency in the country. Together with local and foreign partners, PhilRice has helped build and sustain the country’s rice stock through innovative and sustainable means.”