IRRI, PhilRice Los Baños team up to accelerate varietal adoption in the region

IRRI and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Los Baños Station are working together, through the NextGen Project, in accelerating the adoption of next generation varieties for smallholder farmers in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon Provinces.

According to PhilRice Los Baños Branch Director, Rhemilyn Relado, “we have good quality varieties which, coupled with mechanization and good farming practices and technologies, will boost rice production and improve the lives of farmers in the region.”

Through PhilRice Los Baños Station’s Lakbay Palay (Farmers’ Field Day) for the 2018 dry season, the NextGen project was able to distribute 100 bags of NSIC Rc302 to farmers who participated in the activity. NSIC Rc302, more commonly known as Tubigan 25, is an IRRI-bred variety intended for irrigated lowlands. It is characterized with extra long and slender grains, fair brown rice and milling recovery, and improved eating quality.

“We hope that through this activity with PhilRice LB, NextGen will be able to spread IRRI-bred varieties further and  realize our goal of making high-yielding and climate change-resilient varieties more available to our farmers,” says Lorraine Cappleman, IRRI assistant scientist.

PhilRice Los Baños Station conducted its 2018 dry season Lakbay Palay last April 18 with the theme “Binhing Dekalidad, Pagpapalayang Maunlad” (Quality Seeds for Progressive Rice Farming). Lakbay Palay is a regular activity organized by PhilRice which is conducted through its stations across the country to introduce farmers to better varieties and improved farming practices in the field. 

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