Posted on : 31-03-2009 | By : grace
Producers, extension workers and nineteen rice researchers from Brunei Darussalam are in the Philippines for their training and capacity enhancement activities recommended by the PhilRice (Philippines Research Institute). This is to introduce the country’s rice production to Brunei.
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, his majesty, said the rice price crisis in early 2008 and the looming threat of food insecurity worldwide prompted him to strengthen his kingdom’s domestic agricultural production, especially rice, and to make food security a long term policy priority of his government,
Brunei hopes that the Philippines will increased the production of rice in 2010 by 20% and in 2015 it will increase to 60% to reduce its reliance on rice importation. It imported 29, 5252 tons of rice in 2007, which was almost 100% of its domestic requirement and buffer stock.
Arthur C. Yap , the Agriculture Secretary , was in Brunei on March 3-4 to firm up the Philippine government’s technical assistance. Recommended areas of assistance are varietal improvement, demonstration and promotion of rice production technologies, capacity building, dispatch of rice technical experts and skilled workers, and promotion of rice machinery.
The first batch of PhilRice’s skilled workers and technical experts, one of these technical experts is an engineer of the National Irrigation Administration, are now in Brunei. They will stay there until April 18 to establish a 10-hectare of rice technology cum seed production demonstration farm and set up screen house trials of 220 breeding lines.
The multidisciplinary team is also a part of the training. It is to train Brunei’s Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources-Department of Agriculture personnel on land preparation, crop establishment, water management, and use of rice machinery. PhilRice will also showcase a rice farm with at least 4.0 t/ha yield. More rice technical experts, skilled workers, and farmers are to be dispatched to Brunei.
PhilRice was established in 1985 as the national lead agency for the planning, coordination, implementation, and monitoring of all rice research and development activities in the Philippines. It has received about 50 awards and recognitions.
