PhilRice Magazine 2011_1st Quarter

1 JANUARY-MARCH 2011, Vol. 24 No. 1


ABOUT THE COVERIt captures newly developed technologies depicted by seeds offered to Filipino rice farmers; the passion and love for rice and rice farming as shown in the form of seeds shaped in heart; and a lady representing women in the rice farming system such as farmers, extension workers, and researchers. This is PhilRice, taking-off to its next level in rice science for development.

NEWS2 OPAPA wins international prize3 NMRice added to LSTD trials3 STW now benefit Pampanga rainfed farmers4 Rice R&D programs firmed up

12 Off the press13 Climate forecast bulletin 30 Usapang magsasaka32 Magtanong sa eksperto33 Global rice update

CONTENTS

FEATURES6 New seeds for new climes8 Couple for rice10 Weaving dreams for heirloom rice14 A reason to wake up16 Love the staple, help the country18 Rice-ing stars 20 A different touch from a womans hands22 Gender-friendly farm equipment

and machinery24 No challenge too big for this

extraordinary woman

26 Woman entrep finds beauty in rice bran28 Empowered women in rice R&D

Consulting Editors CONSTANTE T. BRIONESKAREN ELOISA T. BARROGAManaging Editor MARIA ADRIELLE D. SOLSOLOYContributors ANNE MARIE JENNIFER E. ELIGIOELMER D. ALOSNOSELLA LOIS T. BESTILHANAH HAZEL MAVI M. BIAGCHRISTINA ABADILLA-FREDILESMARC ELVIN T. LOZANOANDREI B. LANUZAJEZEREEL LOUISE C. BILLANOCHARISMA LOVE B. GADOEDUARDO JIMMY P. QUILANGEV A. PARAC MARIA ADRIELLE D. SOLSOLOYALFRED FRANCO T. CABALLEROELAINE E. JOSHIDesign|Layout|Photography CARLO G. DACUMOSIllustrations CARLITO N. BIBALCARLO G. DACUMOSANDREI B. LANUZACirculation RODJASON B. CRUZEditorial Advisers RONILO A. BERONIOKAREN ELOISA T. BARROGA

PhilRice Stations: Central Experiment Station Maligaya, Science City of Muoz, 3119 Nueva EcijaTrunklines: (44) 456-0258; -0277, -0285Email: [email protected] PhilRice Agusan Basilisa, RTRomualdez, 8611 Agusan del NorteTel: (85) 818-4477; 343-0778Tel/Fax: 343-0768Email: [email protected] Batac MMSU Campus, Batac, 2906 Ilocos NorteTel/Fax: (77) 792-2545, -4702Email: [email protected] PhilRice Isabela Malasin, San Mateo, 3318 IsabelaTel: (78) 664-2954 Tel/Fax: 664-2953Email: [email protected] Los Baos UPLB Campus, Los Baos, 4030 LagunaTel: (49) 536-3631 to 33Tel/Fax: 536-3515; -0484Email: [email protected] PhilRice Midsayap Bual Norte, Midsayap, 9410 North CotabatoTel: (64) 229-8178 Tel/Fax: 229-7242Email: [email protected] Negros Cansilayan, Murcia, 6129 Negros OccidentalCell: 0928-506-0515Email: [email protected] Field Office CMU Campus, Maramag, 8714 BukidnonTel/Fax: (88) 222-5744

Volume 24 No. 1January-March 2011Website: www.philrice.gov.phPhilRice Text Center: 0920-911-1398

The editorial team encourages readers to photo-

copy and circulate published articles with proper

acknowledgment. Everyone is also invited to

contribute articles to this magazine (600-800

words plus at least four photos/illustrations

with credits and captions). You may likewise

suggest topics or refer individuals and organiza-

tions engaged in rice and rice-based activities

whose stories are worth featuring. Please email

[email protected] or by mail to: THE EDITORPhilRice Magazine

Development Communication Division

Philippine Rice Research Institute, Maligaya

Science City of Muoz, 3119 Nueva Ecija

Binhi Agri Magazine of the Year (2009) Binhi Hall of Fame Awardee (2007) Gawad Florendo Awardee (2001)


Love is just like rice -- plant it elsewhere and it grows. - Malagasy Proverb

Admit it. You love rice. Filipinos obviously love rice. They eat it for breakfast, they have it for lunch, and, again, at dinner. Often, in between, too. People can even find it used in artwork and crafts! Seeing it on your plate day after day after day becomes routine, but it just wouldnt be a normal meal if a small heap of that steaming, fluffy white cereal isnt sitting next to your favorite ulam (viand). For those of us living, studying, or working abroad, eating rice is like being back home. A small piece of familiar comfort on a plate, evolving into some luxury.

For us here at PhilRice, its a passion. Every single day, we find ways of making rice better better-yielding, better-tasting, and better adapted even to the harshest environment. We want it to swim, float, stand heat, tolerate cold, or overcome pest attacks. At the end of the day, we want enough of it for everyone. We want it to outpace population growth.

We develop ways of better managing this precious cereal and passing on these technologies and knowledge to extension workers and farmers. We push ways of reminding people the importance of conserving this lovable commodity -- that every grain counts. We want to do so many things with rice; boil it, steam it, re-heat it, eat it, grind it, ferment it into wine, donate it to calamity victims, use it as offering to deities, and so much more.

Like everything, rice needs love to grow and just like the people you love, you want to know them inside-out, what they like, what makes them happy, what nourishes them.

Join us as we celebrate New Year with new rice production technologies, the love month with rekindled love for rice and rice farming, and March, the Womens Month with tributes to superwomen behind rice or simply, Lift-off, Love, and Ladies.

This issue features stories on climate change-adapted varieties and PhilRices new R&D thrusts, to name a few. We give you chronicles of people who consummated their passion for rice and rice farming. We pay tribute to some women in the rice industry who have become prime movers in their own respective fields.

Eat, Pray, Love Rice

editorial


In its 7th year of existence, PhilRices Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OpAPA) project has finally received international recognition. OpAPA was recently declared among the best four projects for the Third Category Prize of the 2010 Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) International Prize for Pioneering Human Development. Its theme is Development of Remote and Rural Communities through Information Technology and Communication. This category is dedicated to the role of governments ministries and public institutions in the adoption of new innovations to enhance the application of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for the development of remote and rural communities.

AGFUND recognized OpAPA for its genuine efforts in developing and

testing ICT applications that address challenges in agricultural development in the Philippinesconvenient access to updated information. OpAPAs entry highlighted various ICT interventions such as the PhilRice Text Center, Pinoy Farmers Internet (www.openacademy.ph), OpAPA e-learning program, PalayChikahan (e-forum), virtual consultations, Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank (www.pinoyrkb.com), cyber communities, and ICT trainings using the Mobile Internet Bus, among others. These modalities connect rice farmers to reliable sources of information, and also encourage collaborative learning among rice scientists, extension workers, farmers, and other concerned organizations. At the same time, OpAPA facilitates mobilization and networking among local farming communities. By establishing connections between and among stakeholders, they are

OPAPA wins international prizemore equipped to make better decisions in farm management, thus, contributing to the countrys struggle for rice self-sufficiency.

AGFUND is a regional developmental funding organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It actively works in the field of development at the international level and has helped in supporting 1, 268 projects in 133 developing countries.

For 2010, 27 projects in different continents were nominated. OpAPA, along with three other projects from Egypt, Palestine, and Burkina Faso emerged triumphant. (View all winners: http://www.agfund.org/en/media/news/agfund_news/Pages/news26.aspx). OpAPA will receive US $100, 000 for winning the third category which amount will go a long way in 2011. //Jezereel Louise C. Billano

news

NMRice Mobile: free and 24/7 credible fertilizer advice

By calling 2378 for Globe, rice farmers and extension workers can now get fast and credible advice on the best time, amount, and type of fertilizer to apply to the rice crop for free, 24/7.

Launched on Jan 24, NMRice mobile provides an immense potential to enhance the way technical support is delivered to farmers and other clients in a country where mobile phone penetration is pegged at a staggering 93% as of August 2010.

Farmers and extension workers only need to answer questions by pressing the corresponding number, and a fertilizer recommendation is sent to them through text. Whats more, they can choose from Tagalog, Cebuano, Iluko, Hiligaynon, Bicolano and English translations!

NMRice Mobile is the first of its kind application in the world. There are many applications for farmers and services thereon but theres none that captures, processes, and translates inputs into recommendations and sending it back to the user without a human involved, said IRRI deputy director general for operations, Dr. William Padolina.

IRRI partnered with PhilRice, DA-ATI, University of Southeastern Philippines, and West Visayas State University in developing the NMRice Mobile. //Christina A. Frediles


An on-farm participatory trial using the Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMRice) has started this dry season crop under the Location-Specific Technology Development (LSTD) Program of PhilRice. Along with the Leaf Color Chart (LCC) and Minus-One Element Technique (MOET), NMRice is being tested by LSTD-participating farmers to help them identify the location-specific fertilizer requirements of their rice crop. They eventually decide which among these nutrient management decision tools do they prefer to use.

Compared with the LCC and MOET, NMRice may be considered a faster alternative because it only needs internet or mobile phone access (see related news on pages 2, 31). Although capacity to use these technologies may still be an issue to some sectors, these are now readily accessible to many people in the country.

NMRice is a computer-based decision tool which is a product of years of

NMRice added to LSTD trials

Farmers in three Pampanga barangays are freed from irrigation water burdens with the 28 shallow tube wells (STW) from the European Union (EU) project on promoting small-scale irrigation systems (SSIS) for rainfed areas.

The pump sets were delivered Jan.

STW now benefit Pampanga rainfed farmers

10, 2011 at DA-RFU-III which will dispatch them to four SSIS-farmer field schools (FFS) in Brgys. San Jose, Carmencita, and Gutad in Floridablanca.

Although pumps were provided to them by the national government many years back, they still need more to irrigate

larger than 3 ha. Gutad farmer Rolando Simon is one of the beneficiaries of the STWs.

The STW is a huge help. More fields will be irrigated. With the knowledge I learned from FFS, getting higher yields will be more certain with a secured irrigation source, Simon said.

To compensate for limited or unavailable surface water, the STW tap shallow ground water to irrigate the crops. Project leader Dr. Eulito U. Bautista said the use of STWs will be ideal for rainfed areas like Pampanga.

Farmers do not have to depend solely on climate and rainfall which is one of the causes for low rice productivity, Bautista said.

A 2006 FAO study on STW irrigation development found that an estimated 2.4 million hectares of rainfed lands in the country have STW potential.

Bautista said that the projects target is to install 1,200 pump sets until June 2011. There were 145 sites in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, and Pangasinan identified for the project and drilling of pump sets has started in Bulacan.

The project Increasing rice yield and productivity through the promotion of small-scale irrigation and integrated crop management systems in rainfed areas is implemented by EU through the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and DA-PhilRice, BSWM, ATI, and LGUs. It seeks to improve rice productivity and other crops in rainfed areas by providing small-scale irrigation sources and capacity building through FFS. //Ella Lois T. Bestil

consolidated research on site-specific nutrient management among scientists from IRRI, PhilRice, and UPLB. To know the amount and timing of fertilizer application using NMRice, farmers must answer 15 questions about their rice-growing conditions. Depending on how much yield the farmers want to get, a corresponding amount of fertilizer will be recommended. Of course, higher yields require additional nutrients, said IRRIs Eufrocino V. Laureles.

According to Roland Buresh, IRRIs nutrient manager expert, NMRice fits LSTD as it is tailored for location-specific needs of farmers which can result in sufficient food at affordable prices for consumers.

To access NM Rice, visit www.irri.org/nmrice. The farmer or extension worker can choose what language to use from Bicolano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Tagalog, or English. //Christina A. Frediles

Some Pampanga farmers receive 28 STW units.


PhilRice is optimizing its available resources as it implements its medium and long-term corporate plans after its Board of Trustees approved in late November 2010 the Institutes program thrusts for 2011-2016.

Following a series of stakeholders consultation-workshops in August 2010, the countrys lead agency in rice science and development will have its hands full executing projects that will enable farmers to adapt to climate change, increase yield in the irrigated lowland, develop nutraceutical rice products, and package location-specific technologies.

A program focusing on determining the complex interrelationship between the development of the rice industry and

national economy is also in place.Atty. Ronilo A. Beronio, PhilRice

executive director, said the new programs were created not only to increase farmers yield but also to improve their nutritional and economic status.

Details in the programs are being fine-tuned based on what transpired from the consultations. The stakeholders accepted the programs as they help address the well-being of farmers, Beronio said.

Under the program on Developing Technologies to break the Low Rice Yield Barriers in Rainfed, Upland, and other Adverse Environments, varieties with 7 tons per hectare potential yield for the rainfed areas will be generated. Varieties yielding

3-5 t/ha will be developed for environments stressed with drought, salt, flood, heat, cool temperature, and low solar radiation.

In 2012, PhilRice breeders are expected to release two inbred direct wet-seeded rice varieties with at least 10 t/ha potential yield to further increase rice productivity in irrigated lowland. Moreover, two hybrid varieties with potential yield of at least 12 t/ha will hopefully be released from 2012 to 2014.

We also want to help lessen the drudgery of farming. With this, the mechanical rice transplanter, precision seeder, combine harvester, reversible airflow dryer, and electronic grain color sorter will be promoted and commercialized, Beronio said.

Prioritizing increased income and improved nutritional status of rice-based farming communities, the Institutes food scientists and chemists will help develop micronutrient-dense rice lines or varieties with beta-carotene, iron, or zinc; improve the shelf-life and eating quality of brown rice; and produce high-amylose rice for the control of diabetes and other hereditary chronic diseases.

For the Location-Specific Technology Development Program, Beronio said development workers are targeting more than 44,000 farmer-innovators in 42 provinces across the country. Beneficiaries of this program include farmers in irrigated and rainfed areas with yields below 4 t/ha and 2.5 t/ha, respectively.

Through the Impact Evaluation, Policy Research, and Advocacy Program, Beronio said that policy recommendations on attaining and sustaining rice self-sufficiency, reducing poverty among rice-based farming households, and improving nutrition among Filipino households will be formulated. Furthermore, information on farmer and market needs will be generated to help identify the priority technologies and products to be developed.

An external review of PhilRice completed in late 2007 had concluded that the Institutes research outputs are of high quality. As development is an essence of science, we are now translating these outputs into products that will not only increase yield, but also help reduce poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, and hunger, Beronio added. // Charisma Love B. Gado

Rice R&D programs firmed up

news

Dr. Marissa Villafuerte-Romero of the Rice Chemistry and Food

Science Division, is the third PhilRice scientist to join the ranks

of The Ten Outstanding Women in the Nations Service Award. President Benigno S. Aquino III conferred the distinction in

a ceremony at Malacaang on November 5, 2010. TOWNS is

awarded every three years, since 1974, to exceptional women who exhibit excellence in their careers

and exemplary service to the nation, representing the ideals that are being represented by

the larger sector of the national community.


24th NATIONAL

RICE R&DCONFAB

For details, please visit

www.philrice.gov.ph or contactPlanning and Collaborative Programs Office

Tel/Fax: (044) 456-5388email: [email protected]

MARCH 16-18, 2011PHILRICE CENTRAL EXPERIMENT STATION MALIGAYA, SCIENCE CITY OF MUOZ, NUEVA ECIJA

PHILIPPINE RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE


ever-worsening effects of climate change. Developing high-yielding and stress-tolerant varieties is the frontline defense against climate change.

SALINE-RESISTANT VARIETIES

For irrigated lowlands that are prone to salt intrusion, saline-resistant varieties such as: NSIC Rc182, Rc184, Rc186, Rc188, and Rc190 (Salinas 1-5) have been developed. Rc182 yields 2.8 t/ha and matures in 113 days. Rc184 yields 3.1 t/ha and matures in 120 days with resistance to blast and whiteheads. Rc186 yields 3.1 t/ha, matures in 115 days; Rc188 (3.2 t/ha, 114 days); and Rc190 (2.9 t/ha, 120 days). These varieties have high milling recovery, good eating quality, and are suited to both dry and wet seasons except for Rc186, which is more appropriate for the dry season. To achieve maximum yields ranging from 3.8 to 6.3 t/ha, proper cultural management practices are needed to guard against their susceptibility to tungro. Farmers in Palawan,

NEW SEEDS

In the Philippines, our farmers, especially the small share-croppers are among those who suffer the worst. When the climate changes, cycles of rain and sun, on which most of our farmers depend are disrupted. Crop yields decline and incomes shrink. Our farmers need help now, more than ever.

PhilRice has developed varieties for the difficult environments to help maintain biological diversity as well as adapt to the

The worlds climate is changing and the signs are

everywhere. Stronger storms and drier droughts, hotter

days and nights, more rain during La Nia, and more sun

during El Nio; fatal flooding in the most unexpected

places in Australia; and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia submerged

for hours in rainwater. The world is abuzz on what

might be the slowest but surest disaster to hit our planet.

Unfortunately, the signs say the horror has only just

begun. Will there soon be more lakes than deserts?

for new climes

features


Alfred Franco T. Caballero


like Teodulo Llaneta of Puerto Princesa City, have started planting Rc184, 188, and 186. They report good crop growth and expect to harvest much this season.

DROUGHT-TOLERANT VARIETIES

Bartolome Papares, a seed grower with the Camarines Norte State University, is very happy with the turnout of the 5kg of NSIC Rc192 that he bought from PhilRice. He reported that the variety grew tall and healthy, and yielded 25 cavans of seeds that he sold in 40-kg bags. Farmers were pleased with the variety so they bought its seeds. He also said that aside from good eating quality, Rc192 did not contract any disease nor was it infested by any pest.

For rainfed lowland areas, Rc192 (Sahod Ulan 1) is an IRRI-bred variety, with a maximum yield potential of 5.5 t/ha and matures in 106 days. It can be dry-seeded, wet dry-seeded, or transplanted. NSIC Rc9, developed for upland areas, is adapted to the aerobic planting system.

SUBMERGENCE-TOLERANT VARIETIES

Narciso Miranda, a farmer working for a seed grower, planted Rc194 (Submarino 1) in the flood-prone area of their farm here in Munoz City. The variety is a big help especially in areas that are often submerged, Miranda said. The Submarino foundation seeds did not experience tungro infection. Now, their seeds reach as far as Isabela and other nearby provinces. Submergence-tolerant varieties like

Rc194, a cross of IR64 and an Indian variety with Sub1 gene, were developed by IRRI. Submarino 1 can survive, grow, and develop even after 10 days of complete submergence at vegetative stage. It yields 2.5 t/ha and matures in 125 days under submerged conditions; 3.5 t/ha and 112 days under better conditions. It also has good eating quality.

Nelson Villanueva, a seed grower from Cabanatuan City, said he tried the Submergence variety because its the new one meant for flood-prone areas. He cautioned farmers about its susceptibility to tungro infection, which can be treated.

Rc194 is also susceptible to blast from the seedling stage onwards, thus it is best for the farmer to follow these steps: destroy crop residues, raise seedlings on wet bed, and avoid high N-fertilization. Tungro, on the other hand, infects rice at the vegetative stage. Dr. Hoai Xuan Troung of the Crop Protection Division says the virus is transmitted by the green leafhopper only, and is managed by regular planting. The farmer is cautioned not to apply pesticide indiscriminately.

CHANGING CLIMESClimate change could mean dire straits

for the Philippine rice industry. Rice supply may decrease while demand may shoot up. Sea levels have also risen and this can make intruded soils saltier, destroy arable land, and lower rice production. Prolonged drought can cause damage in all growth stages of rice. Rice blast, and sheath and culm blight could also become more widespread as wind patterns and timing of development stages in both hosts and pests are changed.

With these hardy and enduring varieties, there will still be rice to eat.

PhilRice has developed varieties

for the difficult environments

to help maintain biological

diversity as well as adapt to

the ever-worsening effects of

climate change. Developing

high-yielding and stress-tolerant

varieties is the frontline defense

against climate change.



Marc Elvin T. Lozano

features

As I move on with my life, I draw strength and

inspiration from my only child named DArice

(pronounced as Daris). Her unique name was coined

from Department of Agriculture (DA) and rice, which

had become significant parts of my life, Mrs. Alicia

Nicolas said, with her eyes slowly welling with tears.

Couple for Rice

and was filled with cinematic reminiscence. Rice is life. Rice is love. It didnt matter then.

Alicia was the Bulacan Farmers Information and Technology Services (FITS) manager. Dario Nicolas was one of the selected farmer-cooperators for the FITS rice techno-demo in Bocaue.

FIRST MEETINGOur love story started from a very

typical teenage-like kantyawan (teasing), Alicia said. Dario was testifying on the effectiveness of the techno-demo during the 1994 farmers field day when hecklers among the crowd began asking if he was indeed single. At 60, Dario proudly admitted that he was not married. Alicia, seated among the farmer-audience, was 39 back then. Her colleagues, fellow technicians, became instant match-makers who wanted Darios path to cross with hers, and never again part.

Love at first sight? I guess so, she said. At 55, Alicia quivered like an infatuated young lady. After the program, Dario followed us in our vehicle and handed me his first gift, a suman (rice cake wrapped in banana or palm leaves).

COURTSHIPA number of days after the field day,

Darios uncle, who happened to be our office driver, was always telling me how difficult it was for Dario to fall asleep every night; that Dario always told stories about someone; that Dario was indeed in love, Alicia paused. With farming and with me, she added after a far-away look.

And yes, something within her yearned to grow beyond infatuation.

Dario was charming to his technicians

They fell in love with and because of rice

Her late father was very kind. He loved us so much, a tear rolling down her cheeks.

Alicia lost her husband to lung cancer in July 2009. Our love story is for keeps. My husband happened to be my former

farmer-cooperator in a rice techno-demo project, she intimated.

Upon hearing the revelation, the conversation was immediately diverted to a more luscious account: their love story. The ambience then suddenly became lighter,



because he was witty and participative in lectures and discussions. No wonder he had the blessings of my officemates right away on courting me, she said.

Dario often surprised Alicia with gifts, only to find out later that they were bought by other agricultural technicians, Alicias friends. It was a welcome invasion of her privacy.

Dating, watching movies together, regular home and office visits even up to midnight all played vital roles in a smooth farmer strategy of winning a technicians heart.

So when was the sweetest three-letter word told?

I did not actually answer yes, but we started sharing intimate bonding after a field trip in Los Baos, Laguna, Alicia recalled.

It was October 1994. Farmer-cooperators were scheduled to have a field trip. The rumored Dario-Alicia love team was then buzzing all over Bocaue, motivating the Municipal Agriculturist to do something for Alicia to join the field trip. Dario had many sympathizers indeed, and the conspiracy was fast gaining ground.

In the van, they sat beside each other. They had a very long conversation about virtually nothing, yet the strange spark they felt whenever together did not fade even a split second. Everybody in the van were teasing them but they did not mind.

Long before the daylong field trip ended, a more intimate relationship between the two had flourished. The miracle of rice had worked again.

I wont dictate her on what course to take up in college. What is important to me is that she acknowledges that rice farming is what her father did to feed and send her to school, Alicia said as she started to have teary eyes again.

Now DArice is 13, 1st year high school; a reserved young lady; silent-type like her father. Probably, rice will play a big role in her life as well.

Love for rice and rice farming may result in various ways. For Alicia and the late Dario, undoubtedly, they both fell in love with and because of rice. They are not the only rice couple in the world, make no mistake about it.

Alicia did not completely lose her husband. For as long as DArice Nicolas bears the first name of her parents attachment and the surname of her father, memories the rice couple shared together will be forever kept in Alicia and DArices minds and hearts. The memo-rice will live happily ever after.

It was not hard for me to fall in love with him. I really was attracted to guys older than me. Besides, Dario was so sweet and kind ever since, Alicia said.

DARICE January 7, 1997, Dario and Alicia were

married.We did not argue over petty things,

although I often acted dominant. Maybe it was also because I served as the bread winner of my family even before Dario came into my life, Alicia said.

When I was mad, he just patiently listened and then calmed me down. I never thought that I could still find someone like him. He was the perfect partner for me, she added.

Their marriage was blessed with a charming baby girl named DArice. They coined the name not only because it embodied Dario and Alices nick names, but also reminded them of the things and events that helped bond their fate, one of which was rice techno-demo.



community organizer whos had her share of mobilizing rural communities in other parts of Southeast Asia, Vicky had gathered vast experience in development having worked for UN projects related to refugees. She had also partnered with local NGOs. More important, she was never condescending of the difficulty of organizing indigenous peoples in the Cordilleras. She was, for all intents and purposes, an outsider looking in. But five years hence, Vicky, who hails from Lumban, Laguna, has become an adopted Cordillera daughter and honorary tribeswoman.

The motivation to put up the CHRP did not pop out of the blue. In 2001, while the world trembled at the devastation and moral disarray brought about by the so-called 9-11 terrorist attacks in the US, Vicky doggedly went to America to pursue a Master of Arts degree at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. There she met Mary Hensley, an American who had lived in the Philippines as a young Peace Corps volunteer for two years in the late 70s. She told Vicky what she couldnt ever forget about her stay: the aroma of cooked rice in the hinterlands of the Cordilleras, which to that day, constantly beckoned her to go back.

But Vicky, the Filipina, did not know enough about the experience Mary was talking about; it was Mary who could describe the wonder and beauty of living

for heirloom rice

WeavingDreamsIt is said that if you stretch the terraces and put together all

those majestic stairs in one long loop, they would be able to

cover half the globe. This is just one of several incredible and

marvelous things said of the Ifugao rice terraces. We sure are

lucky to have our country as prime beholder of their beauty.

The first-time spectator is usually consumed by curiosity

and puzzlement particularly on how (and how long) the

ancestors built these sacred stairways depending primarily

on a basic yet indispensable tool: their hands.

CHRP ARRIVESVicky Garcia would probably say, its

the heart that has made the terraces stand proud. The heart of the rice farmer, that is. It could be the farmer from Kalinga who hand-pounds his unoy or the one from the Balangao tribe of Natonin, Mt. Province whos learned to perfect the wine from the rice produce. When the heart of the rice farmer throbs, it does so with a keen connection with the spirits of the ancestors and the gods who bequeathed the rice to them.

Vicky knew what she was into: five years ago, before starting the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project (CHRP), she knew that this was no ordinary challenge. A

features


Anne Marie Jennifer E. Eligio


among Filipino farmers, breathing the same clean air, and sharing the same staple food with them. The two women were thousands of miles away from the Kalanguyas (Ifugao), the Balangaos, and the Taguibongs (Kalinga). But they were weaving optimistic dreams for them. The dream is living today - as the friendship and partnership in Vermont have leaped a thousand-fold, taking the two women recently to a large gathering in Italy where the tribes rice varieties imbuucan, ominio, and chong-ak received international recognition with designation from the Slow Food Foundations Ark of Taste. The criteria: the food must be of outstanding quality in terms of taste; must be linked with the memory and identity of a group; and, linked environmentally and historically to a specific area. As it seems, the rice of the farmer who once fed Mary eons ago in a little hut in Kalinga has now transcended boundaries, its scent wafting in the air of the European Alps.

FROM CURIOSITY TO LEARNING TO COMMITMENT

But Vicky did not breeze easily through the whole journey. She wholeheartedly believed that the Cordillerans rice was different: the taste, the aroma, the nutritional elements (it has very high iron content), the enjoyable satisfaction one gets from it. More than anything, it was heirloom a gift from the ancient gods passed on from one generation to another. Part of the challenge was for the indigenous peoples to acknowledge the extraordinariness of the rice they produce, and for Vicky, everything else would follow. The heart of the organizer must blend with the heart of the rice farmer.

Vicky started off the CHRP with Mary in two towns, Lubuagan in Kalinga and Banaue in Ifugao, in 2005. By 2010, eighteen municipalities were actively participating in the project. Two thousand farmers were tilling the land with the specific intent of not merely producing for ones consumption, but also for an export-driven market. The heirloom rice (which normally matures in 281-290 days) has

clearly gone beyond its expectations: from 2005 to the present, the erstwhile 800 kilos of rice produced could now average 20 metric tons. RICE, Inc. (Revitalize Indigenous Cordilleran Entrepreneurs, Inc.), the non-government outfit that Vicky heads, sees to it that production, harvesting, and post-harvest activities follow strict quality control and that economic returns are guaranteed among farmers.

CLIMB ON The work and achievements have

yet to peak though. Vicky admits that while one corner in the US has created a market niche for the heirloom rice,1 local distribution is still untapped. Vickys recent efforts comprise networking with local distributors that would help put the heirloom rice in the domestic market, such as in malls and other strategic outlets.

Anyhow, the earned viability of the CHRP as a model project for sustainable small-scale agricultural livelihood is a considerable achievement in development work. Vicky shares that with farmers lending strong cooperation to the endeavor, a total of 61.7 tons had been produced from 2005-2010 earning a net income of P3,548,110. Vickys sense of fulfillment lies in the validation that there is still much hope that can be derived from tilling the terraces and that indigenous

peoples need not out-migrate and seek employment away from home. Moreover, the strict quality control standards consistently set by Vickys group have led to able partnerships with the Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division of PhilRice and PHilMech (Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization) for the invention of new machines specific to the brown heirloom varieties. The brown rice milling system is again another hallmark of showcasing the distinguishing quality of heirloom rice.

MIRACLE OF RICELooking back to the years of wading

through the ascending rice fields, communing with farmers, and braving arduous walks that have exacted a toll on her fragile condition (she was afflicted with polio when she was young), Vicky, at 50, could finally say that she has found her calling as dreamweaver for Mary, who initially conceived this dream project and inspired her to catapult the dream to reality. Indeed, the miracle of rice exists. Through the heirloom project, indigenous Filipinos have once again shown their innate gift at transcending boundaries and creating adaptive environments. Encircling half the globe to spread the Filipino identity isnt a difficult feat after all.

Check out its official online marketing site on http://www.heirloomrice.com

The heirloom rice has clearly gone beyond its expectations: from 2005 to the present, the erstwhile 800 kilos of rice produced could now average 20 metric tons


Vicky Garcia


PhilRice Tapuy (Rice Wine): Cookbook & Cocktails

A book on recipes and cocktails featuring tapuy, Philippine rice wine! It is not your ordinary book but a series of recipes depicting culture and stories beyond their creation.

Research Methodologies for Rice Specialists

This manual is an outcome of a workshop held at PhilRice on April 5-9, 2010. Herein are 16 learning modules that highlight a broad range of topics such as the Location-Specific Technology Development (LSTD) Program, soil

characterization, statistical analysis of on-farm research, statistical analysis for LSTD variety trials, socioeconomic assessment of the LSTD PalayCheck, technical report writing, and social mobilization, among others.

Q&A on Climate Change and Rice Production

Too many unanswered questions playing on your mind, such as what will happen to your yield if climate changes or how will rice production contribute to climate change? This material has the answers! It covers almost everything on climate change and rice production.

RTB #70: Reducing Methane Emissions from Irrigated Ricefields

This presents the factors affecting CH4 emission and

the measures to reduce it. It also encourages farmers to help lessen the impact of rice production on climate change without affecting their yield.

RTB #71: Rice Hull Gasifier- Engine-Pump System

This promotes the use of the gasifier-engine-pump system, fueled by rice hull, as an alternative water pumping method for rice-based communities in rainfed areas. This method, known as gasification, is a process of converting solid fuels such as rice hull into a useful gas with restricted supply of air.

OFF THE PRESS

rice through the lens

We are encouraging all photography enthusiasts to submit your photos to us and get a chance to win a bottle of PhilRice Tapuy and have your photo published in our magazine. The editorial team will send you a notification through email once your photo is selected.

Guidelines:1. Entries must be in JPEG format (300 dpi) and 8.5x11 in size.2. Submit your entries to [email protected] with the subject RICE THROUGH THE LENS ENTRY not later than March 4, 2011.3. Each person can submit many photos.4. Photo manipulations are allowed.5. REMEMBER: Creativity is the key.

Theme: Upland Rice Farming

Let your pictures do the story-telling! *All photos submitted will be a PhilRice property.


CLIMATE FORECAST BULLETIN

Moderate to strong La Nia condition is present across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Nearly all models indicate that La Nia will peak during the Northern Hemisphere winter 2010-2011 (December-February) and ex-pected to last at least into the Northern Hemisphere spring 2011 (March-May). The January, February,and March season is characterized by having the shortest days, longest nights, and lowest average temperatures. The La Nia condition is expected to bring more than average rainfall in most parts of the country during the season. In terms of rainfall amount, the eastern section of the country will receive more rainfall while the western and northernmost parts of the country will receive lesser rainfall (less than 100 mm/month) even the La Nia condition is present. A slightly warmer than normal air temperatures will likely be experienced over most parts of the country with occasional cold surge to be felt in the eastern section throughout the season. Transition period of the seasonal shift from the NE Amihan monsoon to the SW Habagat monsoon is expected during the later part of March to early April. A slim chance of storms and typhoons is expected to form or enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) during the JFM season. Whether La Nia or not, severe rains, flooding and landslides may occur in some areas during the season. (For more details, download the complete JFM 2011 Seasonal Climate Forecast report through http://www.philrice.gov.ph)

Source: Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)

Farm AdvisoriesHeavy rains associated with La Nina condition will cause flooding

and soil erosion in some areas. Continuous flooding and strong winds will damage the crops and eventually reduce the yield. Cloudy skies and frequent rains may also reduce the yield owing to poor solar radiation dur-ing photosynthesis. In areas that will experience high rainfall and flooding conditions, the following are recommendations to ensure high yield and production in response to the climate forecast. Plant submergence-tolerant rice varieties such as NSIC Rc194

(Submarino 1). It can survive and renew growth even after 10 days

January - March 2011

of complete submergence during the vegetative stage. Follow the local planting calendar and practice synchronous planting

after a fallow period of 30 days to enable efficient use of irrigation water and to minimize spread of pests within a community. The field should be planted within 14 days before or after the majority of the irrigation service area has been planted. Be careful in choosing the crop planting dates so that harvesting and critical crop growing stages (such as flowering and grain filling) will not fall during days of continuous heavy rains or with very strong winds that are regularly observed or experienced in a specific period of time.

Repair dikes, drainage canals, irrigation canals and other water control infrastructures to prevent flooding. Drain excess water from the fields after heavy rains.

Use windbreaks structures to protect crops from strong winds es-pecially in uphill and windy areas. Planting other vegetation or trees along the bunds is another option.

Use mechanical dryers to continue postharvest operations such us drying especially during weeks of nonstop rainfall. Farmers may consult their respective LGUs for the location where these dryers are installed in their community.

Practice rainwater harvesting and use of small farm reservoir to collect rainfall for use in the next cropping season.

Keep a regular monitoring of the field for possible attack of new pest and diseases brought by wet and cold climate condition.

Make use of daily weather forecasts as basis in planning and implementing farm activities. For latest daily weather updates, flood advisories and hydrological forecasts, call the PAGASA Hotline at 433-ULAN (433-8526) or for regular updates subscribe to their SMS, and for more details visit http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph. Farm-ers should consult the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) local offices for the release dates of water for irrigation.

Contact us:PhilRice Agromet Network (PhilAgromet). Maligaya, Science City of Munoz, 3119 Nueva Ecija Tel: (044)-456-0285 loc 212. Email: [email protected]. PhilRice Text Center: 0920-911-1398


At 6:30 am, before the sky could even turn distinct blue, small groups of workers gradually gather as they walk in PhilRice experimental fields, still visible with traces of dew, at times fog. Their caps dominated with red, yellow, and orange present contrast to the seemingly endless lines of greens along the so-called PhilRice airstrip.

Devotion to farmers [inspires us to wake up earlier than the rest of other workers], Fidel Ramos (no relation to the former PH president), a development worker for 10 years, said.

INSPIRATION SINCE CHILDHOOD

To others, particularly among the so-called born hungry, rice is just a grain to be eaten to defeat hunger. But to PhilRice workers, the grain encapsulates stories on the intricacies of its cultivation. After the grains are collected, dried, and cleaned, these are meticulously studied to improve their eating quality and resistance to pests. And for rice farmers to bring out the best in every grain, PhilRice workers travel to remote towns and communities to educate these food producers on best practices and technologies in farming.

While helping them, PhilRice also learns from farmers. They tell us their ways and problems so the R&D workers could devise ways on improving their current practices toward enhancing farmers quality of life.

As a son of a land tiller, Ive seen the needs of farmers to improve production, increase income, and elevate standards of living. And PhilRice [could help address these needs],Ramos said.

The calling to serve farmers was

heard in the early part of PhilRice workers lives. Dr. Manuel Jose Regalado, acting DED for research, recalled that during his high school days, he was a laborer in his fathers 2-ha rice demo farm in Bicol. He and his younger brother helped from land preparation to sun-drying, and in delivering the harvest.

Farming for him was not easy as threshing using the hampasan method was quite difficult for his young physique, and also harmful to his health owing to his allergies on rice straw fines and grain dust.

By experiencing a bit of a farmers life, he developed sympathy and empathy for farmers; engendering his passion for developing machines to make farming easier.

SUSTAINING BALANCEAlthough inspiration may be instilled

at a young age, a researcher can be sidetracked as work, when unmanaged, could compromise other aspects of life. Sustaining balance in ones life is a challenge especially for a woman of responsibilities. A wife, a mother of four, and a researcher striving to leave a mark in rice breeding, Evelyn Tabelin said the difficulties of maintaining balance were lightened when she realized that it is Gods will for her to be an instrument for farmers to feel His love through her work.

Meanwhile, Rustum Braceros battled with nostalgia for two months when he was engaged in a technical cooperation project in Brunei Darussalam.

I love working at PhilRice. The stresses that go along with my job as research assistant are lessened with the closeness of my family. Work could be strenuous but every day, after my work, I could be with my family, Braceros said.

While in Brunei, rice plants in the project area were yellowing and their leaves were drying up. For plants to recover, Braceros told the Brunei collaborators to irrigate the field with 10-cm depth then drain after a day. They did this for three weeks.

The seedlings survived. The congratulations I received from them were enough for me to persevere during the days that I was away from my family, he said.

FULFILLMENTSatisfaction in R&D workers does

not only result from balancing work and family. They feel fulfilled with the smiles of rice farmers, exuding appreciation in their words, and admiration in their eyes.

I felt fulfilled when my trainees proudly showed me their seeds of Mestiso 7 hybrid, which they produced from their 240-sq.m backyard. They planted these seeds in 1.0 ha, Ramos shared.

A reason to wake upDevotion to farmers inspires us to wake up earlier than the rest of other workers - Fidel Ramos


Charisma Love B. Gado


For Evangeline Agres, the discomfort of long bumpy travels from Batac, Ilocos Norte to the secluded towns in Northwestern Luzon is replaced with happiness whenever she observes good changes in her farmer-trainees behavior.

Increasing farmers income and yield could be our main goal. But small changes from them are enough for me to value my work more, she said.

Agres mentioned the change in habit of one of her farmer-cooperators who used to smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day. After learning in a season-long rice-based production training that virus in vegetables could be mechanically transmitted from cigarette ashes, he gradually reduced smoking.

She also felt complete when women-farmers in her area, who used to be timid and inactive in farm-related activities, gained confidence by conducting trainings and creating model farms for their fellow farmers.

When the farmers I train say thank you sir, with a smile, only then can I really feel that I have done something for them, Ommal Abdulkadil said.

GIVING MOREWith lofty work expectations at

PhilRice, attachment to the rice plant and farmers becomes a core in ones existence.

Im closest to the rice plant during maturity stage or before harvesting as this is the time when we make a verdict on advancing or discarding a rice line. Sometimes, I become emotional when an entry yields well in the field but I have to discard it because it is not resistant and has poor grain quality, said Emily Arocena, the lead breeder in the development of special rices such as NSIC Rc128, Rc218, and glutinous Rc15, Rc17, and Rc19.

Meanwhile, Dr. Flordeliza Bordey, a returning scholar from University of Illinois where she obtained a doctorate in agricultural economics, considers farmers as an extension of herself as her grandfather was also a farmer. As a child,

she used to bring food for her grandfathers farm laborers at work.

In some farming communities, only a single household would be able to afford a TV set. Farmers in other households go to this house to watch. We need to work more to help them improve their lives. One action we could do as economists is to integrate socio-economics and scientific findings and package these to help decision-makers come up with sound policies, she said.

For Dr. Marissa Romero, 2010 The Outstanding Women in the Nations Service awardee in agriculture, said rice science will have more impact on peoples lives when nutrition is enhanced. Romero said that the busy lifestyle of Filipinos, which sometimes causes diseases, creates the need to produce nutraceutical products from rice, which include bran oil.

Producing instant am or boiled rice broth will also facilitate food access for the countrys poorest of the poor.

The road in rice R&D was never smooth. The challenge for PhilRice to ease hunger continuously motivates me. Its very idealistic but we have to give our contribution to this crusade. How about varieties that could be planted on the moon? Wishful thinking but possible, Leo Sta. Ines, who specializes in breeding upland varieties said.

For the next ten to 25 years, researchers envision rice R&D to be producing varieties that are eco-friendly and could cope with extreme climate change. A 70-cm-short super variety that could be planted across ecosystems yielding 12 t/ha, and superior hybrids yielding 15 t/ha could also be produced. In farm machinery development, comfortable and ergonomically designed hand-tractors with gear transmission, steering clutch, and reliable braking mechanisms; riding-type precision seeders; and more efficient combine-harvesters could be developed to attract young people to rice farming.

Engr. Regalado, who has developed five machines, further envisions

cooperatives that run their own rice mills and dryers with heat and electric power from a rice husk-fired cogeneration plant, and producing natural products, such as organic rice bran oil, activated rice husk charcoal, and organic fertilizer from rice by-products.

LIGHT AT NIGHT (AND DAY)

Its 10 pm and three PhilRice staffers have just landed at the airport after week-long interviews with farmers in a far-flung area in Mindanao. At the bay, they are waiting for their ride back to Nueva Ecija, about four-hour trip from Manila.

Meanwhile, at the Central Experiment Station, tinkling sounds of laboratory equipment could be heard as the guard roves around the lonely and almost quiet main building. Even late at night, several young researchers are still at the laboratories, extracting DNAs from rice plants and isolating bacteria to discover effective nitrogen-fixing microorganisms.

What motivates them to give more without thinking of hours? What is their light in working at night?

Our love and care for our farmers; and the friendship wed built with them, the researchers resounded. Indeed, serving the farmers for them is not bounded by time.


When the farmers I train say thank you sir, with a smile, only then can I really feel that I have done something for them, - Ommal Abdulkadil


The names are of people who pledged to conserve rice. The names are those of the countrys servants. They swear theyll not waste rice, in all its forms.

The pledge is to always find ways to save every grain of rice to help [the] country achieve rice self-sufficiency.

The pledgers are students all, almost.

NATIONAL RICE AWARENESS

The Save Rice, Save Lives commitment vessel traversed through state colleges and universities in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The person who dropped his/her name in the vessel should have

understood his/her contribution to realize the national goal of attaining rice self-sufficiency partly through rice conservation.

Some 4,195 students heard the call to save rice through the weRice forums conducted in the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Ilocos Norte, Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Bicol University (BU), Visayas State University (VSU), and University of Southern Mindanao (USM).

The theme weRice represents the Filipinos collective soul as a nation shaped by rice. It comprises three core messages: weRice with increased income from rice farming, weRice from better nutrition through brown rice, and weRice from conserving rice.

We are promoting these three messages to revive the dying interest of students in agriculture especially in rice farming. weRice tells them of the opportunities in the rice industry and the help they could give the country if they raise their interest to a level of self-involvement, Chona Narvadez, National Rice Awareness Month Celebration chair, said.

Ella Lois T. Bestil

the stapleLoveHelpthe countryThe Save Rice Save Lives cylinder

glass vessel stands 20-inch tall.

Its solid glass that encloses about

5,000 pieces of cut paper cards

makes it heavy. But its the written

names and affixed signatures that

accentuate its weight.

features


THE YOUTH SPEAKSThe Save Rice Save Lives pledge

commits the taker to cook [enough rice for the family], to recycle leftover rice into other dishes, to consider ordering rice in half servings or bring home [what is not consumed], and other ways.

And the students have more ways. To reduce the chance of rice wasted

from sacks with holes, it is better to keep rice in sealed containers. This will also prevent contact of roaches and other insects to the rice grains, a student from VSU said.

A high school student from the same school said that children should refrain from playing around dried palay to prevent it from scattering.

In a cafeteria, there was an overheard conservation where a student was saying: we should finish the rice we ordered. We just pledged.

Some students from BU exclaimed they have been conserving rice.

It is my habit to fry the rice I was unable to consume the night before, said a female agriculture student.

While some students find rice conservation an old idea, some of them never thought that conserving rice can help the country.

CLSU high school student Jonathan Balderez said in Filipino, I will try to conserve rice so that I can help my country and my fellow hungry Filipinos.

He said he was thankful for the forum because he was aware that many students like him do not see the magnitude of rice wastage, even at household level, to the country.

THE RICE FANSMore than 100 yuppies, students,

researchers, and even big timers in national TV have expressed their love for rice through a fan sign.

The National Rice Awareness committee has called for lovers of rice since 2009 and many have responded.

The Fan Sign was for Filipinos to be aware of their staple and regard it important to the countrys life, Narvadez said.

The medley of pictures shows a hundred many different ways to show love to the staple and the different reasons where that love came from.

THE COMMITMENT VESSEL WAITS

To date, the face of those who commit have changed from a youths to a farmers or a laymans. With more than 4,000 paper cards of commitment and counting, the vessel will continue to walk around waiting to be filled up.

We hope that these people have really held on to their commitment. In 2011, we will develop ways to monitor schools on their rice consumption wastage, Narvadez said.

The theme weRice represents the Filipinos collective soul as a nation shaped by rice. It comprises three

core messages: weRice with increased income from rice farming, weRice from better nutrition through

brown rice, and weRice from conserving rice.

To reduce the chance of rice

wasted from sacks with holes, it is

better to keep rice in sealed containers.

This will also prevent contact of roaches

and other insects to the rice grains,

- VSU student

USM students affixed their signatures on the pledge card and placed them in the Save Rice, Save Lives commitment vessel.


RICEing

stars


MARCO SISONSinger

MELAI CANTIVEROSTV Actress

KIM ATIENZATV Host

JOBERT SUCALDITORadio Commentator

PATANI DAOActress MARC LOGAN

News Reporter

Compiled b

y: Maria Ad

rielle D. So

lsoloy

To watch the video o

n rice conservation,

visit www.riceaware

ness.multiply.com

or be a fan of the Ric

e Awareness page @

Facebook.

VHONG NAVARROTV Host and Actor

features


If you were a tv/radio personality, what could have been the best way to shout your love for rice? It is simply through a fan sign a piece of paper in which a person writes and expresses his/her love for a certain person or thing, which in this case is for rice.

In this way, they themselves are called rice conservation advocates as they value rice in all its forms.

So with this, there is no excuse for us, whether we are ordinary or extraordinary people, not to give importance to the countrys staple.

Ang sigaw nila, sigaw din dapat natin!

ing


ANTHONY TABERNATV Host, and Radio Commentator

YENG CONSTANTINOSinger

ANTONIO TONIPET GABATV Host

TEDDY CORPUZTV Host and Singer

RICO PUNOTV Host, Singer and Entertainer

WINNIE CORDEROTV Host

MEL TIANGCOTV Host

JASON FRANCISCOActor

ATOM ARAULLONews Reporter


A different touchChristina A. Frediles

from a womans hands

features


In the olden times, women were considered less important than men. They were not allowed to have formal education, hold important position, vote, and other deprivations.

Now, women stand out in different fields including agriculture.

EXTRA SPECIAL WOMEN FOR RICE

No matter how effective technologies would be, if not disseminated, theyre useless. PhilRice needs partners in the field. A technology cannot be tagged as a success until it has reached farmers and been proven to be effective.

Two women stand tall in rice extension. A different touch that seems noticeable to everyone, they are from San Jose City, Nueva Ecija and San Fernando City, La Union, respectively: Marivic

V. Belena, mayor, and Juanita Peralta, extension worker and farmcaster.

MAYOR FOR RICEA certified public accountant, simple

and a very private person, until she joined politics in 2007.

With so many intrigues and some dirty politics, Alex, my husband had a hard time convincing me to run for mayor, said Marivic. She never imagined following the footsteps of her husband. Ive always told Alex, that I can still help people though I

am not in politics but now Ive realized I can extend my help in a larger scale when in politics, the mayor added.

As first woman-mayor of San Jose, Belena has moved her citys focus of festive celebrations from tanduyong (onion) to rice.

According to her, San Jose City is 80% rice-based so if theres something

A hands-on Mayor Belena participated in the ceremonial transplanting of the PalayCheck Field School dated July 16, 2010.


that her city should be recognized for, it should be rice. If Guimaras is known for sweet mangoes, maybe San Jose rice can be known for its good eating quality, she added.

Some say I am strict but all I want is the best for my city, the mayor said. In every project, Belena sees to it that every single peso will be spent wisely.

WOMAN FOR FFSFor San Jose rice to be known, legwork

should start from 1,2,3. When PhilRice included our city in the PalayCheck Field School (PFS), I immediately said yes, she related. Our mayor is very supportive of our projects, which makes PFS a huge success, said Reynaldo Amarillo, San Jose City Agriculturist.

Shes an output-oriented person, a mayor who attends the first day of trainings so as to know what to expect and will ask for reports on results, Amarillo added. San Jose farmers were surprised to see the mayor participating in the ceremonial transplanting for the PFS.

A total of 234 farmer-participants attended the PFS where they learned the latest rice and rice-based production technologies following the PalayCheck and Palayamanan Systems. They were from eight barangays of San Jose.

Results of the training show that a yield increase of 2.4 t/ha was achieved. They used to harvest 4 t/ha on irrigated land but with PFS, they got 6.4 t/ha.

The training included hands-on exercises on land preparation, transplanting, managing the crops at different stages, assessing the achievement of keychecks, and harvesting.

According to the mayor, her focus is more on continuous education of farmers so as to adopt new technologies which can increase yields.

RICE ON-AIRThis lady can extend rice technologies

in different places all at the same time, not physically but through radio airwaves.

For 28 years now, Juanita Peralta has been disseminating rice information as a radio broadcaster. A graduate of BS Agriculture major in Agronomy at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University, La Union, Juanita knows exactly what to discuss on rice.

Juanita has six agricultural programs in different radio stations such as DZNL in La Union, DZWM in Pangasinan, and DZJC in Ilocos Norte. Shes a broadcaster in the morning and an extension worker in the afternoon.

WHAT JUANITA SHARES The broadcaster uses the PalayAralan

material given by PhilRice, among other references. The material includes CDs and scripts of PalayCheck recommendations.

She introduces PalayCheck as a package of rice farming technologies and practices for improved rice yield.

Also part of the material are information on Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture and Palayamanan. The former helps increase farmers productivity and profitability through information and communications technology- based promotion such as e-learning and farmers text center. The latter is a diversified but integrated rice-based farming system.

The recorded broadcast material is hosted by Louie Tabing, broadcast journalist of ABS-CBNs DZMM featuring interviews with experts discussing PhilRice technologies.

WHAT LISTENERS SAY ABOUT JUANITA

Madali kasi maintindihan ang kanyang programa dahil sinasalin nya sa Ilocano ang tungkol sa PalayCheck at nagbibigay sya ng mga halimbawa (Her program is easy to understand as she translates the PalayCheck into our native tongue, Ilocano, and she gives examples), said Gloria Manor, farmer and avid listener from San Fernando City. Maam Juanitas early-morning segment fits our schedule. Waking up early and listening to her program, which airs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 5 am is not a problem because the information I get is very educational and useful, Manor added.

Meanwhile, Reynaldo Casuga, farmer and also an avid listener said that not all the time can their agriculture technician visit their fields, which makes Juanitas radio program important as they are guided and updated on the new technologies.

Maam Juanita is a dedicated and effective radio broadcaster and extension worker all at the same time. She can answer all our queries on rice and delivers it well, Casuga added.

Listening to Juanitas program made him familiar with the eight key checks of PalayCheck. With this, Casuga now harvests 100 cav/ha of palay instead of only 80 as before.

WHAT JUANITA SAYSThe radio program is intended

for farmers so I want that every single information that I share will have an impact on farmers conditions. Also, so as not to waste the governments money funding this radio program, Juanita said.

To sustain listenership, Juanita (a.k.a. Ning) invites rice experts and launches text promos. Prizes include portable radios.

WOMEN POWERTheir hands may be small, limited

strength, and their voice soft but it is proven that women can make a difference.

Like King Midas that once upon a time had the power to turn things into gold by touching, some women have the power to make things a sparkling gold with their touch.


Through radio waves, Juanita extends rice tech-nologies in different places all at the same time.


farm equipment and machinery:

Now trending in rice farmingMaria Adrielle D. Solsoloy

According to Dr. Manuel Regalado, Acting DED for Research, being gender-friendly is now a criterion in developing and designing farm equipment and machinery, which are or will be crafted by the Institutes Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division (REMD).

Regalado added, We are also looking for possibilities that some of the existing projects can still be improved, and be marked as gender-friendly.

He explained that for a project to be considered the ease of operation must be addressed or the burden must be lessened, since physically, most men are stronger than women.

CHOICES FOR LADIES Nowadays, women farmers are already highly

visible and are now somehow recognized in the society.

For this reason, PhilRice developed the following farm equipment and machinery that can be used or are already used now by the so-called superwomen in the field.

Lightweight is the word that nearly suits the description of the plastic drumseeder, a farm equipment used for direct seeding and straight-row planting. It is likely to be a lawn mower being pulled and or pushed on the grounds. Moreover, it is also

If a farm equipment or machine is tagged as gender-friendly, surely it does not only benefit women, but also men, says

Dr. Irene Tanzo, PhilRice Gender and Development Initiatives

project leader.

features

Gender-friendly


portable, which makes it more gender-friendly.

By using this machine, seeding rate is reduced into 20, 40, 60 kg/ha. The rice grains are seeded in straight rows, allowing the process of mechanical weeding in between. It can save on labor, which in most cases, is done alternately by a man and a woman.

This machine can be used for both upland and wetland for crop establishment, and can also be used for other crops, giving it an added value and reason to buy.

Super curyat, on the other hand, is the brand name of the PhilRice microtiller for the reason that it sounds like a big kuriat (Ilocano word for cricket) when being operated.

This farm equipment is portable, lightweight, and can be easily dismantled to facilitate transport in steep terrains like in the Cordillera where most rice farmers are women.

It works well even in fields with knee-deep hard pans and long stubbles, and has the capacity to be faster at least 24 times than the traditional method of foot tramplings.

Thinking of milling palay your own way? Now, it is possible through the PhilRice micromill and PhilRice multicrop flourmill. These machines were crafted for small quantities only, such as for household and experimental use.

Both can be easily operated and maintained, which make them gender-friendly machines. Aside from that, they are versatile since these can be used for other crops and other grains.

The flourmill is supposed to produce fine, dry flour for some traditional food and baked products, and output is storable up to six months.

COMING SOONIn cinemas we often see the phrase

coming soon. More so, it is also visible in mobile phone shops, or perhaps even car shows. This is because it is an instinct for people to always look forward to something new, trendy, and economical, and coming soon also works the same way with farm equipment and machinery.

So with this, ever wonder what PhilRice engineers are up to nowadays?

Its the pedal-type brown rice milling machine! This is something everybody should watch out for.

Yes, it is a newly conceptualized project led by Engr. Arnold Juliano, with Leo Molinawe and Harvey Valdez of REMD.

Nowadays, people are already health-conscious, like me. This made us think that why not create a machine that while operating it, your body is also being worked out, and the product a not-so-milled rice, commercially known as brown

rice, says Juliano.According to Juliano, this dream

machine was basically designed for women. But it can also be operated by any household member as long as he/she knows how to pedal.

He proceeded to say that brown rice easily gets spoiled, and people really need to exercise, thus the rise of this idea.

With this, it is like hitting two birds with one stone healthy food served for the family and an exercised body; both can be done by what Filipinos call Ilaw ng Tahanan the mothers.

*For detailed information, contact (044) 456-0277; -0285; -0113 local 307, 308, or 309 or email [email protected].

Plastic drumseeder

PhilRice flourmill

PhilRice micromill

Super curyat

Pedal-type brown rice milling machine concept


After being widowed in 2006, Amelia, 44, became the sole provider for her brood. Generating income from farming and maintaining the household is not an easy feat; the pressure is immense. But Amelia is no ordinary woman to easily succumb to challenges. Aside from their eight children, her departed husband left not much behind to help her pick up the pieces.

THE WOMANS WAYSAmelia almost single-handedly

manages a 2-ha rice farm, a 2-ha coconut area, and a backyard garden with different vegetables and a few chickens and pigs. During the fish season, when the tides are friendly and the fishes seem careless, Amelia would even go fishing, a skill she learned from

her father and a chore her husband used to perform for additional income.

To do all this, the widows day starts at around 4 a.m., when she takes coffee. As she heads out to her vegetable garden or go around the community to sell cashew nuts or mangrove crabs, the older children wake up so the family can have breakfast at around 7 a.m. After the meal where they make do with what is available, Amelia marches to the rice field where she performs much of the labor. Additional labor from her children and other women in her community is only hired during critical stages like transplanting and harvesting.

Amelias rice field used to be planted with PSB Rc82 and/or Rc18 that yielded a usual 110 cav/ha. She continued planting these inbred varieties even after she became a seed grower in 2007. In 2009, she planted Rc160 and earned around P67,000. I wanted to be a seed grower so that I can earn more, at the same time help the other farmers here who have difficulty acquiring seeds of new varieties, she explained.

But rice is planted only once a year. The lack of enough water during the dry season obliges Amelia to plant vegetables and watermelon. All year round, however, her coconuts provide additional income for her family. Nothing could stand between Amelia and survival.

When not attending to her rice, vegetables, or coconuts, Amelia can be seen around town selling her harvests. To reach Aborlan town proper, she walks about 5

No challenge too bigfor this Extraordinary Woman

features


Ev A. Parac

It is not unusual to draw lifes lessons

and inspirations from the experiences of

other people, especially those we consider

our heroes. For the people of Palawan,

Amelia Gresones, a widow from Brgy.

Isaub in Aborlan town, is their pride and

inspiration. She helps them believe that

faith, fortitude, and determination can go

a long way in facing lifes challenges no

matter how big.


km of rough and dusty road that becomes muddy during the rainy season. Of course, she walks back home through the same road.

If not selling her harvests, she joins farming and entrepreneurship seminars conducted by the towns agriculture office. She also attends activities of the Rural Improvement Club (RIC) of Aborlan of which she has been treasurer for three years before becoming president in 2010. She has also been an active member of the KALIPI or Kalipunang Babaeng Pilipino since 1995.

A lot of people in the community know the widow because she often visits them to share what she learned from the seminars, especially new technologies about rice growing and organic vegetable farming.

I encourage farmers to attend trainings and seminars so that government funds spent on these projects will not be wasted. They are also a big help in updating your knowledge about farming, especially in my case, she said. Amelia confided that she only finished first year high school so, next to experience, the trainings are her main source of knowledge in farming.

THE PRIZE OF DETERMINATIONAmelias life story has inspired the

residents of her community and province. But hers is a story far more extraordinary. In 2010 alone, she won several awards at the municipal, provincial, and national levels, the most prestigious of which is the

Most Outstanding Rural Woman award given by the Philippine Commission on Women in celebration of World Rural Womens Day in October. As a prize, Amelia received a total of P70,000 plus an open-source water pump worth P55,000 from the DA Region IV B. As the national winner, she will fly to Geneva, Switzerland to represent the country in the World Summit for Women in March 2011.

In an interview with a community newspaper, Palawan Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra expressed his pride over Amelias achievements and dedication as a mother, farmer, fisherwoman, and volunteer worker. Too sad she couldnt share her private joys and victories with the father of her children. Has she realized yet that sometimes the best man for certain jobs is a woman?

Of course its not easy but my children are a big help. They perform some of the

No challenge too big

farm labor when they are not in school and they help around doing the household chores, Amelia said.

Two of her children are already married, but six are still in school. My ultimate dream is to be able to support my children through school. No matter how hard, I am determined to give them a better life, she shared. Yet she knows shell never be able to give them enough.

SECRET NO MOREWhen asked what her secret in life is,

Amelia said, Its all about faith in God, fortitude, and determination to achieve your goals in life.

A very diligent and determined person, Amelia has won the enormous respect of her fellow Palawenos. Indeed, she should be a source of inspiration for the many rural Filipino women all over the country who play multiple crucial roles in the family and the community.

for this Extraordinary Woman


Ev A. Parac

Amelia and the fruit of

her labor.


finds beauty in rice branHanah Hazel Mavi M. Biag

oman entrep

features

WSome wastes, like the rice bran, are not meant to be thrown away,

Sherill Quintana, a sociologist and entrepreneur from Bay, Laguna

realized while in search for a source of essential oil.

A SHIFT TO BUSINESSShe used to be a community

development worker making her always away from home but tried her luck as an entrepreneur to be closer to her family. Her business on aromatherapy products, which started in 2000, hit a plateau after a seven-year sales boom.

Worried about the situation, she asked

God for enlightenment as there are families who depend on the business for a living. Quintana finally decided to shift to health products, which are closely related to her previous business.

Quintana experienced a dilemma in manufacturing spa products what source of therapeutic essential oil is possible? The Department of Trade and Industry

(DTI) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) joined her in establishing her new products.

MORE THAN PIG FOODRice bran (darak in Filipino) is the

brown layer between the inner white rice grain and the outer rice hull. It is a by-product of rice milling, which is commonly fed to pigs but, surprisingly, can be used also as raw material for beauty enhancement products.

Quintanas Oryspa (rice for spa) rice bran products, first of its kind in the Philippine market, bare the reasons why.


Previous studies that she read show that rice bran oil contains vitamin E, B-complex, and anti-oxidants. It has exfoliating, anti-aging, moisturizing, anti-fungal, andante-bacterial properties.

In 2008, she already came up with five Oryspa products body oil and scrub, solid perfume, soap, and shampoo. After three years, Oryspa also offers body cream, powder and mist, aromatherapy, chili and calming baby oil, conditioner, meditation balm, and baby powder, wash and mist with prices ranging from P65 to P480. Thanks to her R&D team.

The shampoo and conditioner is Oryspas best seller as it moisturizes the scalp, prevents premature hair graying, promotes hair growth, and helps prevent dandruff and other scalp disorders. But, Quintana stressed that her products are with no approved therapeutic claims.

Rice bran oil for beauty treatment products is indeed an additional value to rice by-product, Quintana, 35, said.

SMALL BUT SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS

Spa owners are her partners in this business. She assured them that with Oryspas well-researched products, their spa services would also be of quality, keeping their customers coming back, asking for more.

Im more concerned with how effective rather than how saleable my products are. This perspective leads to a more sustainable business, Quintana said.

In this kind of business, Quintana stressed, monitoring and evaluation are important for improvement. Her product

development team monitors and evaluates their spa partners performance. Results show that theres a 30% increase in the sales of the spas first 60 days of adoption.

Asked if she was apprehensive of competitors, she just said, The key to sustainability is continuous innovation while paying attention to customers feedback. We need not be complacent with the success we have now.

As of now, she has no plans of exporting her products for she believes that Oryspa innovations are for Filipinos own consumption first.

Her DTI-licensed manufacturing company is located in Los Baos with 14 regular workers and more than 50 subcontractors. Her company focuses not on extracting rice bran oil but on processing this extracted oil into value-added products. She hopes that the government can provide assistance in the extraction of rice bran oil as she still imports the product.

Now, Oryspa caters to 18 spa owners and has 10 major distributors nationwide. In just three years, this is really an achievement. The rice bran oil is a great find, she said. She is also waiting for the approval of her product registration application in the Bureau of Food and Drugs in the last quarter of 2010.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTIONThe shift to rice bran oil was done

without regret, Mark Christopher Garcia of V-Lounge Spa in Laguna said.

He has been operating for more than six years, but its only with Oryspa that the number of his clients doubled in more than two years and made his spa comparable

Rice bran oil for beauty treatment products is indeed an additional value to rice by-product, Quintana said.

with the class A spas in Manila.Im really happy. I made the right

decision to switch from natural and synthetic oil to essential oil, particularly rice brans. Natural oil has a shorter shelf-life while synthetic is not that good to the skin, Garcia said.

With confidence in rice bran oil, he said its being inexpensive doesnt mean that quality is compromised. Its being cheaper than other oils is only a plus factor making him add other properties to the body scrubs. As of now, he, together with Oryspa and the DOST, has meticulously formulated five body scrubs. Some of Garcias customers observed that the rice bran oil is lighter to the skin than the imported grape seed and almond oil. Someday other uses of rice bran oil will emerge.

Rice bran oil-based products satisfy SPA goers from head to toes.


Women, they say, are hard to understand. They are treated with

a mixture of reverence and repulsion. They are loved as much as

they are loathed, sometimes abused. And altogether they have

yet to be better understood. In the Philippine rice research sector,

two women have led the fight to have women become more

recognized, or at least more visible.

Empowered Women in Rice R&D Alfred Franco T. Caballero

features

drive and passion amidst hardships and opposition are what eventually led others, like Dr. Irene R. Tanzo of PhilRice to pursue gender studies in the rice research context.

In the words of Dr. Tanzo, the difficult thing about being born a girl is that, you are not initially seen as an equal or a partner... more of a support, and worse as a sex object. She wants this to change. Her inspiration, she says, are the farm women.

If you see them working in the field, with their dark, wrinkled skin, calloused hands; if you see them budgeting for the farm and the household you cant help but do your share to lessen their burden, to make life easier for them, to make life better for them.

WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE

Studying gender in the context of agriculture is very important as the contributions of women, which are not reflected in official agricultural statistics, matter as much as the mens. These two components together provide a holistic picture of the agriculture sector. According to Dr. Paris, in her paper, Changing Womens Roles in Homestead

Dr. Thelma R. Paris of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) lobbies for the women who are barely mentioned in agricultural research, treated as if they never existed. A mistake she also committed until she recognized her errors, this is what drove her to walk off the beaten path of doing research with a detached heart to become a concerned researcher with a missionary zeal. Her

Dr. Thelma Paris (left) doing the fieldwork herself as a researcher and a gender proponent in IRRI.

Dr. Irene Tanzo in action (right), as she leads the GADi Team of PhilRice in one of their activities.


Management: Mainstreaming Women in Rural Development, the reason behind the invisibility of women is because many of the works done within the homestead were unrecognized. She says that these activities (e.g. livestock care, post harvest crop activities, and food processing) were considered extensions of their household chores.

She says, The role of women in agricultural production and processing is significant in Asia, South Asia, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, but research has shown that women often have less control over assets and less access to new technologies or information. This diminishes them, lowering their output and hampering their

The team identifies and addresses gender issues in R&D and administration, and comes up with policy recommendations to correct them.

For her, GADis greatest achievement was when PhilRice acknowledged that the rice farmer is both a female and male being. She is therefore happy to note that this realization is reflected in the inclusion of women farmers and stakeholders in most of the recent knowledge products of PhilRice.

They have also built a gym and daycare center with the help of the administration. The center was started in response to EO 340, which encourages institutions to have their own daycare centers to mitigate absenteeism of parents, usually the women, with young kids.

Today, four of the five program leaders at PhilRice are ladies while 11 of 20 branch managers and division heads are women. Four of 11 Trustees are women, and the Association of PhilRice Employees has a lady president, as well.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHTBoth scientists agree that there is

still much to do. According to Dr. Paris, women should be equipped with technical knowledge and leadership skills that will allow them to maximize the return on their labors and resources, especially when the husbands are away. She envisions that gender inequalities in access to resources and opportunities, be reduced and that women benefit from technological interventions rather than be displaced by them thus losing their source of livelihood. This means more representation by women professionals in technical seminars,

projects; and more participation of women farmers in field days, and on-farm experiments, among others.

Dr. Paris says more donors are imposing that agricultural R&D projects address gender issues to reduce inequalities in access to resources and opportunities, and to empower women. It will be difficult to alleviate poverty, reduce poverty, and protect the environment unless womens technical knowledge and skills are enhanced, she adds.

Dr. Tanzo meanwhile wants gender research to be part and parcel of PhilRice R&D and not an afterthought. She says, I would want to see a time when, even without the team, we will always consider if our actions, technologies, and products for rice will benefit both man and woman rice workers. I also would like to see our gender activities reaching our communi

Documents

PhilRice Magazine 2011_1st Quarter