Published May 9, 2021, 1:00 PM
Rice is one of the world’s most important crops, with at least three billion people relying on it worldwide. According to the Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO), as of 2018-2019, the Philippines ranked eight in the top rice producing countries in the world, producing 15,025,640.73 tonnes in the said time span. Yet, as anyone who follows the news will tell you, this doesn’t seem to be enough to feed the country, which must rely on imports for it to be rice-secure.
This was part of the reason Raf Dionisio, an entrepreneur focused on agriculture and forestry through endeavors like travel company Make a Difference (MAD) Travel and online shop Make a Difference (MAD) Market, decided to try it.