he Rice Program is one of the banner components of the Department of Agriculture mainly

concerned in rice farming and uplifting the lives of Filipino farmers.

Guided by the principles of the Agrikulturang Pilipino (Agri-Pinoy) framework, the National Rice
Program integrates government initiatives and interventions for the agriculture sector, namely:
food security and self-sufficiency, sustainable resource management, support services from farm
to table, and broad-based local partnerships.

It focuses on longer-term investments and has the following objectives:

engage farmers associations / irrigators associations, LGUs and the private sector proactively;
encourage the production and consumption of other food staples and provide specific
interventions (technologies and services) to rice farmers to increase rice productivity such as:
frontload investments in irrigation, postharvest facilities and mechanization.

 OJECTS
 TRANSPARENCY
 MEDIA RESOURCES
 CONTACT US
 PROVINCIAL OFFICES

Why rice?
An average Filipino diet is based on rice. It provides half of our calorie requirements and one-third of
our protein intake. Rice accounts for 20% of food expenditures for average households, which
increases to 30% for households belonging to the bottom third of our society.
As a durable crop that can be relied on to bring good harvest year in and year out, rice is grown in
some 3.2 million hectares of land, providing livelihood to more than two million households engaged
in rice-based farming, along with millions of farm laborers, and tens of thousands of merchants and
traders.
Rice, as a food staple, is an economic commodity. It is both a major expenditure item and a source
of income for many households. As food is our most basic necessity, demand for rice cuts across all
social classes. Rural households also depend, in varying degrees, on the various stages of rice
production for livelihood.
Rice also plays important macroeconomic and developmental roles. Movements in the price of rice
have a substantial bearing on overall inflation rates, fuelling concern from policymakers on pricing
and fiscal stability. Because a large part of the population remains in agriculture, growth in output
and productivity are essential to spur economic development.
Globally, food supply is threatened by a growing demand to feed an increasing population in the face
of scarcity in land and water resources. Since a majority of small Filipino farmers and rural
households depend on food farming for their own consumption and income, government support is
critical to encourage domestic production or self-sufficiency to address poverty, food insecurity, and
providing a key ingredient to economic stability in the long term.
It is towards these ends that the National Rice Program plays an important role in the flagship food
program of the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
What is the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program?
The Agri-Pinoy Rice Program is one of the banner components of the Department of Agriculture
mainly concerned in rice farming and uplifting the lives of Filipino farmers.
 Guided by the principles of the Agrikulturang Pilipino (Agri-Pinoy) framework, the National Rice
Program integrates government initiatives and interventions for the agriculture sector, namely: food
security and self-sufficiency, sustainable resource management, support services from farm to table,
and broad-based local partnerships.
What are the objectives of the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program?
The Agri-Pinoy Rice Program plays a key role in the Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP), the
central focus of the country’s food security policy from 2011 to 2016 and beyond.
With the vision of a food-secure society where farmers enjoy a decent and rising standards of living,
the FSSP 2011-2016 aims to achieve self-sufficiency in food staples. Self-sufficiency means
satisfying domestic requirements for food, seeds, processing, and feeds through domestic
production.
The key target is to produce the country’s domestic requirements by 2013. Beyond 2013, the aim is
to strengthen national resilience in staples production.
The key strategies are concentrated in the following: (1) raising farmers’ productivity and
competitiveness, (2) enhancing economic incentives and enabling mechanisms, and (3) managing
food staples consumption.
What are the activities being undertaken by the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program?
To carry out these objectives, various government interventions are undertaken from the national to
the local levels in the form of support to rice production; irrigation; postharvest and other
infrastructure facilities; market development services; extension, education and training services;
and research and development.
Specific interventions provided by the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program are as follows:

A. Production support

 Production of Breeder Seeds of Inbred and Nucleus/Breeder Seeds of Hybrid Parentals

 Basic Breeder Seed Production

 Seed Production of varieties for climate change adaptation/mitigation; Including varieties that are
submergence-tolerant, drought-tolerant/early maturing, saline-tolerant, and cool-elevated

 Upland Rice Production Development

 Establishment of Community Seed Banks; including rehabilitation and establishment, distribution of

simple seed processing equipment; and locally adopted starter seeds

 Support to RIARC Development and Activation, including production and distribution of registered seeds,
and purification and multiplication of traditional and locally adopted varieties

 Disaster Response like buffer seed stocking and provision of insurance coverage

 Establishment of pest outbreak control measures like bactericides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides,
and light traps

 Cloud seeding operations on vulnerable regions

 Distribution of fertilizers for rationing

 Establishment of agro-meteorological (agro-met) stations per major rice district

 Establishment and maintenance of Multi-Purpose Bio-Organic Fertilizer Plants

 Conduct of pest and diseases surveillance/SEWS in clustered areas to determine and prevent pest
occurrence; and strengthening of pest surveillance teams

 Establishment of community-based bio-control agent laboratories, including upgrading of technical

capabilities of bio-control laboratories

 Promotion of nutrient management tools as aid in formulation of SSNM options and varieties

 Support to soil laboratories and establishment of mobile soil clinics

 Distribution of farm and fishery production-related machinery and equipment such as: Rice Drum
Seeders, Rice Transplanters, Mini four-wheel drive tractors, Rice Hull Carbonizers, and Hand Tractors.

B. Irrigation Development Services

 Support to activities of the National Irrigation Administration, an attached agency of the Department of
Agriculture, in restoration, rehabilitation, and generation activities of irrigation systems and their service
areas.

 Provision of Small Scale Irrigation Projects in rice cluster areas to ensure that major waterways are
functional to achieve high irrigation efficiency

 Operating, monitoring, and evaluation of irrigable areas or service areas expanded through restoration,
rehabilitation, and construction of Small Water Impounding Projects, Diversion Dams, and Small Farm
Reservoirs.

C. Other Infrastructure and Postharvest Development Services

 Distribution of postharvest equipment and machinery, such as net/laminated sacks, construction and
rehabilitation of flatbed dryers, mechanical dryers, bag closers/baggers, threshers, combine harvesters,
rice cutter/harvesters, shredders, moisture meters

 Construction and rehabilitation of palay sheds and warehouses, and multi-purpose drying pavements,

 Construction and operationalization of Rice Processing Complexes, and village-type grain postharvest
processing centers,

 Provision, rehabilitation and retrofitting of biomass furnace to existing re-circulating dryers

 Validation of farm-to-market roads (FMRs)

D. Market Development Services

 Market Promotion and Development, consisting of the establishment of Seed Trading Centers and e-
Trading centers, and holding of agri-business investment clinics, market matching, and trade fairs
 Generation, periodic updating and dissemination of regional rice statistics and market information such
as inflow and outflow, demand and supply, palay and milled rice prices, basic rice statistics (effective rice
area, area planted & harvested, production, yield per hectare, sufficiency), input suppliers, millers, etc.,
supply chain and cost structure analysis, price monitoring, and updating of cost structure, stakeholders
directory, market profiles, and rice value-added products

 Establishing linkages with public and private financial institutions, NGOs, and agri-business entities

E. Extension Support, Education and Training Services

 Conduct of trainings and training-related events for farmers such as technology transfers, schools-on-the
air, Farmers’ Field Day, sustainable agriculture practices, Palay Check, Palayamanan, and other social
mobilization activities

 Conduct of technology demonstrations (Techno-Demo) such as varietal TD, compact hybrid/cluster,

community-based MRC, LSTD, abiotic stress environments, etc.

 Promotion and showcase of environment-friendly technologies adaptable to organic production

 Technology commercialization for ratooned rice, upland, submergence, and saline rice varieties

 Technology updating and re-tooling of agricultural extension workers (AEWs) and farmer technicians by
conducting specialized trainings

 Provision of logistical support to LGU Extension Workers and para-technicians,

 Organization and strengthening of Irrigators Associations (IAs) and farmers’ organizations by forming
and mobilizing clusters and conducting technical briefings

 Engages in intensive information dissemination campaigns by distributing IEC materials such as

newsletters, posters, brochures, handouts, flipcharts, billboards and streamers; print, radio and television
campaigns; information caravans; schools-on-the-air, and other related activities.

F. Research and Development Services

 Adopts research and development activities on new rice technologies, such as researcher and farmer-
managed adaptability trials for new hybrids and inbred certified seeds; screening, selection and
commercialization of special rice varieties like organic and biotic-stress resistant; assessment and
validation of soil fertility of rice clusters for organic rice production;

 Promotion and adoption of technology on controlled irrigation, irrigated and rain-fed rice systems
Collection of germplasm for indigenous vegetables, rootcrops, and native staples in support to
Integrated Farming Systems.
“Conduct of climate change mitigation and verification studies”
Research and provision of assistance on the commercialization of organic fertilizers

 Upgrading of research facilities

 Support to the research and development programs of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)
 Further, the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program develops, maintains, implements, monitors, and evaluates
plans and policies that affect over-all rice production, farmers’ welfare, consumer interests, and
climate or environmental concerns.

Specific policy-oriented activities of the Agri-Pinoy Rice Program include:

Policy review and technical updates;

 Generation of nationwide rice statistics from national surveys and other statistical activities; planning and
monitoring of program activities and interventions;
 Conduct of quarterly program reviews from provincial and regional data;
 Holding of coordination meetings with stakeholders;
 Conduct of regular operational and program monitoring and evaluation activities to determine program
implementation and delivery of services;
 Support to the establishment of a National Rice Council;
 And support to regional rice action teams.

http://dafarmmgov.ph/rice-program/