PhilRice prepares for Rice Garden Project 2009

by Sherri Maigne A. Meneses

    In the northwest corner of the Rizal Park in Luneta Phase II lies a 300 square-meter space for the annual Rice Garden project. The Philippine Rice Research Institute of Los Baños (PhilRice) supports the project that promotes rice awareness to urban dwellers. The city will witness the Rice Garden’s 8th year Harvest Festival on November.

    PhilRice already started their four-month preparation on the said project this July. They are now on the process of seed sowing. In this process, the seedlings of the three varieties of rice are raised for at least 20 days. These varieties are the traditional rice, modern or high yielding variety, and the hybrid rice. 
    The rice seedlings will be planted directly on the prepared plots in Luneta on the third week of July. The seedlings will be maintained until the harvest month.
    A Ceremonial Harvesting will be done by the end of November, which is Rice Awareness Month. This is in accordance to Proclamation 524 declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. The proclamation made the said month as a period for the appreciation of rice as a staple food. 
    The participants themselves, primarily the elementary and high school students, will be the ones to harvest the rice plants. This will be done in order to enrich the experiences of the participants and for them to realize the value of each grain of rice. Like the traditional celebration, the participants will perform their talents in connection to rice awareness month. There will also be games, and prizes to be won.
    Rice is important in the country’s culture, nourishment, and economy. The main objective of the Rice Garden Project is to increase the knowledge and understanding of the city dwellers about this plant.
    The project is also intended to explain the vital roles played by the farmers for the society. It also aims to provide information on how rice is produced using the different technologies developed. In order to help reach the goals of the project, PhilRice will provide information and display materials about rice for the visitors to ponder on.
    Rice Garden is a joint project of PhilRice, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Presidential Commission for the New Century and Millennium (PCNCM), Department of Tourism – National Parks Development Committee (DOT-NPDC) and Asia Rice Foundation (ARF). 

This article was a requirement in DEVC 122 Science Reporting - News (1st sem 09-10).