The Central Luzon Agriculture, Aquatic and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CLAARRDEC) and PhilRice celebrated the RICE fiesta at the Philippine Research Central Experiment Station at the City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija on November 12-13, 2018.
Fiesta stands for Farms and Industry Encounters through the Science and Technology Agenda. Implemented by the Council for Agriculture, Aquatic Resources, and Research Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
The RICE fiesta carried the theme: “DIWANG Makabago at Tradisyunal na Tecknolohiya sa Agricultura at Pangisdaan Handog sa mga Pilipinong Magsasaka.
In the morning of November 11, 2018, before the start of the program proper, an appreciation tour and TechnoDemo was arranged for the media and other guests and participants to the RICE fiesta at the site of the 100-hectare farm area of PhilRice, in which at least 90 percent of the land has been allocated and devoted to agriculture and agricultural activities.
By the way, what is the FutureRice? The the FutureRice Farm was established in 2014 as a demonstration site of rice-based and rice-related technologies from Philippine Rice Research Institute and other agencies. It promotes technologies that can help farmers cope with future farming scenarios like rising fuel costs, trade liberalization, and climate change. Aside from this, it is a farm tourism site that caters to farmers, agriculture extension workers, youth, and other rice stakeholders.
In the FutureRice Farm, you will find the impeller-type compact rice mill, riding-type Trans planter, modified dupog preparation for seedlings and hand tractor attachments.
Aboard the tour vehicle intended for viewing, the tourists were brought to the particular area where different farm implements could be found.
Smart farming technologies through web and android crops for farmers extension workers, and
students are also available such as:
AgRIDOC App. It features simple record-keeping, geovisualization, rice crop insights, shared farm data access, PalayChecj system, and easy task scheduling. it works without the internet. It can be downloaded for free in Google Playstore or http://bit.ly/AgriDOCApp.
Binhing Palay App. A detailed catalog of released rice varieties in the Philippines. It contains information on rice varieties’ agronomic characteristics, pest and disease resistance, and grain quality. It can be downloaded for free in Google Playstore or http://bit.ly/BinhingPalayApp.
eDamuhan App. This app recognizes weeds for you by taking a photo. It uses artificial intelligence technology to recognize weed images, it also serves as a catalog of weed species and weed management practices. Download it for free in Google Playstore or http://bit.lyeDamuhanApp.
MOET App. this app complements the Minus-One-Element-Technique Kit. It has a Fertilizer Requirement Calculator (FRC) that helps users get precise fertilizer application recommendations based on MOET results. It can be downloaded in Google Playstore.
There is also the Rice Crop Manager – It is a web advisory service that provides holistic rice crop and nutrient management recommendations that match its users’ specific farm conditions. It can be accessed through http://webapps.irri.org/ph/rcm/.
Drone Technology –Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones can be used in rice farming for digital mapping, pest management, stress assessment, and agronomic data collection for nutrient management.
The drone technology could be used for the sabog-farming or the sahod ulan farming for the unirrigated or rain-fed areas. It could dispense the palay seedlings to the area as it flies around the vicinity with the drone equipped with the seedlings at a prescribed quantity and time to the area needing the sabog-tanim.
Drone Spray. This octoper can carry 10L of pesticides or herbicides and spray 1-hectare field for only 15-20 minutes. Aside from improving the efficiency and decreasing the cost in pesticide application, it protects farmers from direct contact with harmful chemicals. Philrice partnered with New Hope Corp., the sole distributor of the AGRAS MD-1S drone sprayer, to explore its potential in rice research.
This was demonstrated to the viewers at the FutureRice Farm, where the drone was made to take off and fly within the area to spread the palay seedlings, just like that of the sabog-tanim in unirrigated fields. The drone costs P850,000.
The FutureRice Farm has many technologies and farm practices and management to offer like: Farm Automation, the Automated Drip Irrigation, and the Automatic fish feeder.
There is also the Remote Farming, the Water Quality Sensor; the electric Ammonia Gas Meter, the Automated Weather Station, and the CCTV Monitoring CCTVs.
For the Clean and Renewable Energy, there is the Solar Houses, Zero-Waste Pig, Bioethanol Distiller, Rice Hull Classifier Stove, Bioethanol – Powered Water Pump and Solar Street Lights.
With the Mechanized Rice Farming, there is the seedling Trays Assembly, Combine Harvester and the Mechanical Rice Trans planter.
When it comes to Natural Farming Innovations and Diversification the FutureRice has kwebo, Habitat Manipulation, Organic Rice Production, Water Harvesting, Drip Irrigation,Capilarization, Vegetable Production, Rice Duck, Hydroponics, Aquaculture, Aquaponics, and Vermicast. (Estrella Z. Gallardo)
