Philippines now has a viable rice R&D system

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – The country now has a viable, strong, and well-knit rice research and development (R&D) system.

Called National Rice R&D Network (NRRDN), it now has 57 member-agencies, mostly agencies under the Department of Agriculture (DA) and state colleges and universities (SCUs).

The network is coordinated by the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), which was created in 1985 to direct and coordinate rice R&D activities of all agencies working on rice to improve the economic condition of the small Filipino farmers.

Actually starting operation in 1987, PhilRice was tasked with developing and implementing a national rice R&D program, to sustain the gains made in rice production, and to solve location-specific problems of the whole rice industry.

The rice R&D network is a formal and functional structure of strategically located agencies and institutions sharing responsibilities and resources, working toward a common goal of sustained self-sufficiency in rice. Its goal is to undertake dynamic collaborative efforts in implementing the national rice R&D program.

The 57 member-agencies that compose the NRRDN are classified into four, namely: national research centers (NRC), branch stations (BS), regional research centers (RRC), and cooperating stations (CS).

There are two RRCs – PhilRice Maligaya (the central experiment station of the institute in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, and University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

There are six branch stations, 12 regional research centers, and 37 cooperating stations throughout the country.

The NRRDN units conduct basic studies, undertake "on-station" and "on-farm" stations, implement technology promotion and transfer activities, and pursue commercialization thrusts.

With these R&D agencies and SCUs now collectively working as the national rice R&D network under PhilRice’s leadership, the country is more capable of developing further its rice industry toward the attainment of self-sufficiency in this staple crop in the next five years.

For instance, the NRRDN has played a key role in the testing of the 47 new rice varieties developed over the past 10 years by PhilRice, UPLB, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and AgroSeed, a private firm that bred a hybrid rice variety.

Many of these varities are now widely planted across the country.

The network has also backstopped PhilRice’s ongoing farmers’ training program, which has so far trained more than 70,000 people, mostly farmers, on the new rice technology.

PhilRice and its cooperators, notably the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), have also developed many farm machines and equipment suited to the needs of farmers. It has likewise whipped up several rice and rice-based products which rural people, particularly housewives, are now learning to make through hands-on training activities conducted by the institute.

Dr. Santiago R. Obien, a multi-awarded R&D administrator, headed PhilRice since it began operation in 1987 until he retired from government service last July 28 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Dr. Obien was succeeded by Deputy Executive Director Leocadio S. Sebastian who, at 38, is said to be the youngest top official of a national R&D institution in the country today.