Ramon Efren R. Lazaro
Business Mirror
November 5, 2010
THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) the country’s lead agency in rice science and development, is celebrating today its 25th year and has set its focus on Rice Science for Development (S4D).
S4D is PhilRice’s medium-and-long term corporate plans centered on helping to attain and sustain rice self-sufficiency, reducing poverty and malnutrition, and achieving competitiveness in agricultural science and technology in 5 to 10 years.
Based at Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, PhilRice had been responding to the rice farmers’ needs and the country’s endeavors to attain self-sufficiency in rice since the institute’s creation on Nov 5 1985.
It is a government corporate entity attached to the Department of Agriculture that was created through Executive Order 1061 issued by then President Ferdinand E Marcos.
Other than helping the countryachieve rice self-sufficiency an external review on PhilRice’s impact revealed that for each peso invested on
the institute, a net return or benefit of P4.45 for the Philippine economy was gained.
As part of its silver anniversary, PhilRice connects the institute’s seven branch stations across the country for a three-day celebration that includes a spiritual enrichment, a Santiago R. Obien seminar series on improving research management of research and development institutions,tribute to PhilRice benefactors, and employees’ recognition.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture; Agriculture undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat; Reynato Puno, retired chief justice; and Dr Achim Dobermann, deputy director-general for research of the International Rice Research Institute are the event’s guest and resource speakers.
PhilRice executive director Ronilo Beronio said, “It is my honor to lead the PhilRice family in celebrating our 25th anniversary. Having started at PhilRice in 1986 as its first employee I have seen PhilRice from its infancy to adulthood… It is our collective desire to see PhilRice remain responsive and relevant to the increasing needs of our country and its people.”