Philippine Rice Research Institute
Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is a government corporate entity attached to the Department of Agriculture created through Executive Order 1061 on 5 November 1985 (as amended) to help develop high-yielding and cost-reducing technologies for farmers. The Institute accomplishes this mission through research and development work in our central and six branch stations, coordinating with a network that comprises 57 agencies and 70 seed centers located nationwide. History. Edgardo Angara convened a committee to brainstorm the idea of establishing a national rice research center. The committee was composed of Domingo M. Lantican, vice chancellor  for administration of UP Los Baños; Ricardo M. Lantican, UPLB director for research; Domingo F. Panganiban, deputy minister of Agriculture and Food; Ramon Valmayor, executive director of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development; Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, IRRI director general; and Manuel de Leon, staff director of the National Economic and Development Authority. The proposal for the establishment of PhilRice was submitted to then Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos through then Agriculture and Food Minister Salvador H. Escudero III. The Executive Order (EO1061) creating PhilRice was signed by President Marcos on November 5, 1985. Then Pres . Corazon C. Aquino signed EO 60 on November 7, 1986, which affirmed the creation and increased membership in the board of trustees of PhilRice. Minister of Agriculture Ramon V. Mitra and UP System President Edgardo J. Angara identified and recommended the members of PhilRice Board of Trustees (BOT) for appointment by President Aquino. While a director has not yet been appointed, an executing committee chaired by UPLB College of Agriculture Dean Ruben L. Villareal laid the groundwork for PhilRice’s program plan and operations. In June 1987, PhilRice operations went full swing with the assumption to office of its first  executive director, Dr. Santiago R. Obien. Before his appointment, Obien was president of the Mariano Marcos State University and director of the Philippine Tobacco Research and Training Center. With Dr. Obien at the helm, the executing committee was dissolved and a PhilRice-UPLB Management Committee was created to select UPLB staff members to be seconded to PhilRice as program leaders. The committee’s functions were gradually reduced as PhilRice was being organized. PhilRice’s headquarters, originally located at UPLB Campus, could not meet the envisioned manpower and program expansion. Thus, upon the suggestion of Prof. Kenzo Hemmi, IRRI BOT chair , PhilRice sought infrastructure and technical assistance from the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Ramon V. Mitra, Carlos G. Dominguez, and Senen C. Bacani, secretaries of agriculture, strongly supported the idea. Through board resolution in March 1990, the Maligaya Rice Research and Training Center (MRRTC) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, which was previously merged with PhilRice, officially became the Central Experiment Station. Recent. On September 28, 2005, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave PhilRice a US$ 800,000 grant for biotechnology research into rice with higher beta-carotene, vitamin E, iron, and protein amounts to aiding micronutrient  deficiency in Third World countries like the Philippines. Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita and the University of Freiburg which heads the Gates Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health Program, has matched the Gates Foundation's grant with funding into PhilRice's biotech laboratories, a radioisotope laboratory, and screenhouses for testing the modified rice. On December 4, 2006, the Philippine Rice Research Institute was certified by Technischer Überwachungsverein as an Integrated Management Systems (IMS) compliant organization covering ISO 14001 series 2004 for Environmental Management; ISO 9001 series 2008 for Quality Management; and OHSAS 18001 series 2007 for Occupational Health and Safety  Assessment. In February 2013, the research institute was awarded with US$ 100,000 from the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, a non-profit development organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The institute was awarded for its program that helps farmers and agriculture professionals in providing them information in an open academy. The project also provides assistance through mobile messaging, thereby allowing the institute to reach more farmers in the country. Organization. The board of trustees is composed of twelve members representing all sectors and stakeholders of the rice industry. The membership to the board is done through the appointments of the  President of the Philippines. Currently, the board is composed of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, who also sits as the ex-officio chairperson; Senen C. Bacani, representing the agribusiness community; Dr. Gelia T. Castillo and CMU President Dr. Maria Luisa R. Soliven, both representing the science community; Herculano C. Co, Jr. of grains business sector; Winston C. Corvera of the farming sector; Thelma G. Domingo and Edicia G. Della Torre, both from the consumer sector; Jose S. Concepcion, Jr. of the business community; and Dr. Teodoro C. Mendoza of the academic community. Dr. Castillo has been a member of the  board of trustees since it was first formed. Programs. The Philippine Rice Research Institute has numerous interdisciplinary programs which develops and promotes technologies that are ecosystem-based, location- and problem-specific, and profitable to the Filipino farmers. Currently, it has two major programs: Rice Business Innovation System (RiceBIS) and Strategically Modernized and Robust Technologies for Competitive and Secure Rice Industry (SMARTerRice). The Research Institute also carried the seven R&D program structure from 1987 to 1998. These were Rice Varietal Improvement, Planting and Fertilizer Management, Integrated Pest Management, Rice-based Farming Systems, Rice Engineering and mechanization, Rice Chemistry and Food Science , and Social Science and Policy Research. A change to its R&D structure was implemented from 1998 to 2005. Each multidisciplinary R&D program was carried by the different discipline-based divisions and each division participated in each R&D programs, as follows: Policy Research and Advocacy, Technology Promotion, Rice and Rice-based Products, Rice-Based Farming systems for Fragile Environment, Hybrid Rice, Transplanted Irrigated Lowland Rice, Direct Seeded Irrigated Lowland Rice, and Environmental Sustainability & Management. National. PhilRice partners with local research institutions such as DOST-PCARRD and the DA-BAR in planning, monitoring, and reviewing R&D activities. PhilRice also coordinates the National  Rice R&D Network (NRRDN), a formal and functional structure of 57 strategically located agencies, working toward a common goal of sustained self-sufficiency in rice. Two of these are designated as national research centers, six as branch stations representing the country's major rice-growing zones, 14 as regional research centers, as 35 as cooperating stations. Within the network are groups that address specific R&D areas such as the rice varietal improvement, technology promotion, rice mechanization, and SeedNet. National Research Centers Non-Government/Private Organizations National Rice R&D Networks National Research Centers Branch Stations Regional Research Centers Cooperating Stations Farmer  Partners International. PhilRice conducts joint RD&E activities with international donor agencies such as the following: Externally Funded Projects. PhilRice implements a number of R&D projects funded by foreign donors, such as the following: The Institute also implements the “Rolling Out Techno Gabay Rice Program for Sufficient Food on the Table. Sub-Program 3: S&T-Based Farms (STBF) on Rice Production in Selected Irrigated and Rainfed Areas&” and “STBF on Increasing Yield through Utilization of Quality Rice Seeds of Recommended Varieties&” in partnership with Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development, local government units, and Magsasakang Siyentista