DA, IRRI forge rice sufficiency, food security partnership

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala (3^rd from left) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Director General Dr. Robert Zeigler seal with a handshake a five-year agreement between the Department of Agriculture and IRRI on ‘Sustaining rice self-sufficiency and food security in the Philippines,’ at the DA central office in Quezon City, December 3, 2012.

The DA and IRRI will jointly pursue eight major areas of collaboration, in line with the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP) of the Aquino government, which include strategic mapping of current rice production and expansion areas using GIS and remote sensing to provide a better estimate of the country’s total production, area planted and harvested. The DA through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and IRRI will also undertake a long-term breeding program to develop the next generation of high-yielding, pest and disease-resistant, and climate change-resilient rice inbred and hybrid varieties, including sustainable farming systems and technologies to further improve the productivity and incomes of Filipino farmers and their families. Also shown (from left) are: Bureau of Agricultural Research Director Nicomedes Eleazar, IRRI Deputy Director General Bruce Tolentino, DA Assistant Secretary and national rice program coordinator Dante De Lima, and PhilRice Executive Director Eufemio Rasco, Jr. (Photo by Jose Lucas, DA Information Service)