Rice to be harvested at Rizal Park

MANILA, Philippines - Rice will be harvested at the Rizal Park on Nov. 27.

Yes, you read it right: The country’s main food crop will be reaped at the premier park as part of the observance of November as National Rice Awareness Month.

The site of the ceremonial harvest is the Rice Garden across the historic Manila Hotel. The first of its kind in the country, the Rice Garden was set up in 2001 “to increase the public’s awareness, appreciation, and understanding of this staple food crop that has sustained generations of Filipinos.”

The garden is a joint project of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice), DA-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Philippine Commission for the New Century and the Millennium, Department of Tourism-National Parks Development Committee (DOT-NPDC), and Asia Rice Foundation (ARF).

As it was, according to the project implementers, “many Filipinos, especially city dwellers, grow old not knowing how rice is grown or, worse, how it looks like.”

Thus, the simulated terraced rice garden, which is open to the public, features actual modern (hybrid and high-yielding) and traditional varieties at different growth phases, for different environments, and for various consumers’ needs and preferences.

The rice plots are being tended all-year round by DA-PhilRice, currently headed by Executive Director Ronilo A. Beronio.

The ceremonial rice harvest at the Rizal Park is among the activities that cap the observance of Rice Awareness Month.

In 2004, President Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation 524 declaring November as NRAM “to honor rice, the staple food of Filipinos providing fuel to the agricultural economy.”

The theme of this year’s Rice Awareness Month celebration is “The future is bright, the future is rice,” which Beronio described as optimistic as it aims “to introduce to students of all levels the various opportunities not just in rice farming, but also in other social and agro-industrial ventures”.   – Rudy A. Fernandez