In a webinar aired on the Institute’s social media page, Dr. Marissa V. Romero shared a study comparing pesticide use in rice farms in the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
She added that in another PhilRice study, researchers collected imported rice samples from Southeast Asia, which were compared with Philippine rice in terms of heavy metals.
“All 20 samples had below the allowed maximum level (ML) for arsenic, mercury, and cadmium but four samples from Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand exceeded the limit for lead,” she shared.
According to the chief science research specialist, the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standard of DA has established the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for milled rice, which includes the maximum residue limits for pesticides and ML for heavy metals in rice. The country has even a separate PNS when it comes to specific pesticide residue for rice.
In the recent oath-taking ceremony of newly conferred and upgraded scientists, DOST Secretary Dr. Fortunato T. Dela Peña commends PhilRice after three of its experts landed in this year’s ranking.
“[With 12 scientists nine Scientist I and three Scientist II], PhilRice has the highest number of active career scientists. I appreciate the newly conferred and upgraded scientists for their dedication and significant contributions to research in their respective areas of expertise,” he said.
Dr. Aurora M. Corales and Dr. Elmer G. Bautista were conferred the Scientist I rank, while Dr. Norvie L. Manigbas was upgraded to Scientist II rank by the Scientific Career Council.
Follow #ThinkLandscape on Twitter and check out our updates
Green Super Rice variety surpasses 4.4 ton max yield, nets 8.3 tons/hectare in PhilRice field day 16 December, 2020 - 11:10
In a Facebook post dated 03 October 2020 by the official FB account of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) of the Philippine Department of Agriculture, a variety of Green Super Rice called NSIC Rc 480 was able to almost double its maximum yield per hectare, from 4.4 tons to 8.3 tons, during the Palaysikatan Field Day of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Sto. Tomas, Davao Del Norte.
More than 30 farmers participated in the PalaySikatan Field Day, the first in the Davao Region. The technology demonstration showcased recommended rice varieties, technologies, methods, and machinery in rice cultivation. Through this optimized process, the farmer with the NCIS Rc480 variety was able to harvest 125 sacks of rice at 66kg each, the equivalent of 8.3 tons per hectare. It was
PRIME partners strengthen coordination and information sharing as project scales up 14 December, 2020 - 07:40
To ensure efficient rice crop health monitoring in the Philippines, the Pest Risk Identification and Management (PRIME) project conducted the National PRIME Annual Assessment (NPAA) Workshop on the 9th, 11th, and 25th of November 2020. The NPAA is an annual event that was conducted online this year and attended by representatives from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and agencies of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA), mainly the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), and Regional Field Offices (RFOs).
The event highlighted the progress of PRIME, particularly the monthly crop health monitoring conducted in rice-growing regions of the country. The workshop also served as a platform for the regional partners to communicate their needs, issues encountered in the implementation of pest monitoring, and r