By Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC-13)
Rice, that great equalizer in many parts of the world. And for Filipinos the soul of our being. The essence of what makes the Pinoy both a unique denizen and a citizen of this great archipelago.
This is because in our country, rice is more than just a staple—it is woven into the very fabric of Filipino culture both nourishing his stomach and fueling her enterprise.
For Filipinos, no table is complete without a nice warm serving of rice. From the simplest family dinner to the grandest of fiesta celebrations, rice is ever-present.
It is also transformed into a myriad of dishes that showcase the country’s rich culinary heritage, which is why the price of rice lies at the very top of every administration’s economic development agenda.
When he assumed office in 2022, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Inherited a regime of inflationary prices in basic commodities — including rice — which were caused by a still prevailing upward trend in commodities worldwide.
In his desire for the country to attain food security and keep the prices of agricultural products to a bare minimum, President Marcos, during his early months in Malacanang, assumed the agriculture portfolio knowing fully well that the intransigent price of rice is just a microcosm of what bedevils the agriculture sector.
These ills include development neglect, climate change, rural strife, and even educational trends.
In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2024, the President acknowledged the dire need to further lower the prevailing price of rice, despite the gradual decline already achieved through several government interventions.
“Bagamatmagandaangmgaistatistikangito [rice prices g oing down incrementally], walaitongkabuluhansaatingkababayannahinaharapangreyalidadnamataasangpresyo ng mgabilihin, lalonaangpagkain—lalo’thigit, ng bigas,” the President said in his SONA.
“Totoo, puwersa ng merkado—saatingbansa at magingsabuongdaigdig—angsiyangnagdidikta ng presyo. Bunsodito, halimbawa, ng giyera, problemasa supply, at puwersa ng kalikasan, tulad ng El Niño nanaranasan din saibangbansa. Subalithindinaitomahalagangalalahanin ng atingmgakababayangnabibigatansapresyo ng bigas,” he added.
The President then reiterated that his administration recognizes the country’s rice problem. He underscored the fact that government is doing something about it, saying: “Mahal kongmgakababayan, alamkongdamang-damaninyoito. Hindi natinwinawalang-bahalaanginyongmgahinaing at hirapnadinaranas.”
The Marcos administration has been implementing various projects and programs to bring rice prices down and ensure there is enough supply for everyone, even in lean times.
The President tasked different government agencies to help ensure steady and bountiful supply of palay to meet the year-round high demand for reasonably priced rice.
Harnessing technology for more
bountiful palay harvest
And one of the first to answer the President’s challenge is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which has developed various technologies that could enhance both the quality and quantity of palay and improve rice productivity and sustainability in the process.
A notable example is the PalatakPalaySeeder that the agency launched in Oriental Mindoro in November 2024 as part of the DOST’s larger goal of building smart and sustainable cities in the MIMAROPA region.
The PalatakPalaySeeder was originally developed by homegrown inventor Engr. Delfin Cuevas, Jr., a native of Oriental Mindoro who worked over three decades abroad.
Back home for good, Engr. Cuevas used his expertise in electronics and automation to create what he initially called “6-row Multi-Grain Precision Seeder with Fertilizer Applicator” — a machine that could mechanize farming and make it easier, faster, and more precise.
Engr. Cuevas built the prototype of his machine from scratch using a 3D printer but did not know how to commercialize it so that other farmers could use it, too.
Then, upon the advice of his brother, Engr. Cuevas sought the help of the DOST to patent his invention and, ultimately, roll it out to Filipino farmers.
DOST-MIMAROPA, through the agency’s Intellectual Property Rights Application Program under the Technology Application and Promotion Institute, helped the humble engineer patent his invention as part of DOST’s thrust to safeguard local technologies.
Everybody wins
Indeed, farmers who use the PalatakPalaySeeder stand to gain considerable benefits.
The most notable of these benefits, as the demonstration in Malalad, Calapan City showed, is a pronounced increase in rice productivity as the high-tech feeder is used to plant partially germinated seeds directly into the soil, which results in a bountiful harvest.
Another major benefit in implementing this innovation to rice farming is the significant reduction in labor costs as labor-intensive tasks – like planting palay in the rice field, in particular – are streamlined, mechanized, and simplified.
By increasing palay yield and slashing farming-related expenses, rice farmers can next look forward to bigger earnings and, potentially, a better life ahead.
As a bonus, the amount of work they will have to devote to farming will be reduced as well, giving them more time to rest and get family time.
“AngPalatakSeeder ay malakingtulongsamgagastos ng mgamagsasaka. Dahilkaraniwan, angginagawanila para sapagtatanimsaarawnaiyon, ngayon, ay nagkakahalaga ng P10,000,” Engr. Cuevas explained.
“Dito, saPalatakPalaySeeder, dalawalangangginagamitnaminnanagpapalitan, naang minimum ditosaaminglugar, P500 bawatisa. Kaya, anggastosnamindito ay P1,000 bawatektarya. Kung ikukumparasaTaloc, na para sa transplanting, ang minimum doon ay P10,000 bawatektarya. Angtagal nun,” he added.
Rolly Santiago, a farmer now benefiting from the PalatakPalaySeeder, is endorsing the innovation for these very reasons, claiming: “Napakahirapmagtanim, lalona noon, sahaponnanalalantadkasainit at sahapon ay 150 nalangangmakukuhamo, parangtaposnatalaga. Talagangmahirap para samgamiyembro ng pamilya,” he said.
“Naiskonghikayatinkayonggumamit ng PalatakPalaySeeder. Sulititodahil available itokahitsaan, maaariitonggamitin para makatipid ng pera, at para makatipid ng lakas-paggawa.”
This should be good news for Filipinos. After all, rice is life.
