Rice Garden on its 8th year

by Sherri Maigne A. Meneses

     The Rice Garden in Luneta is now on its 8th year of campaign for rice awareness and appreciation. A Ceremonial Harvesting will be done by the end of November, which is Rice Awareness Month—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 birth of Rice Garden
    Did you know that 90% of our population consumes rice? According to the Philippine 
Rice Production Training Manual of 2003, this staple food produces 60-70% of the Filipinos’ calorie intake. Oryza sativa, commonly known as rice, is important in the country’s culture, nourishment, and economy.
    The Rice Garden Project aims to increase the knowledge and understanding of the city dwellers about rice. This garden could inform the public about vital roles of rice farmers in society specifically the different technologies rice farmers uses in its production. 
    Rice Garden is a joint project of Philippine Rice Research Institute of Los Baños (PhilRice), Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), Presidential Commission for the New Century and Millennium (PCNCM), Department of Tourism – National Parks Development Committee (DOT-NPDC) and Asia Rice Foundation (ARF). The said parties agreed upon the project on July 2000 and was established a year after.
    As stated in their memorandum, PhilRice Los Baños will regularly provide the necessary materials, such as the sample rice varieties. The research institute started their four-month preparation on the said project last July. They did the process of seed sowing. In this process, the seedlings of the three varieties of rice were raised for at least 20 days. The rice seedlings were then planted directly on the prepared plots on the third week of July.

Like nurturing a baby
    In the northwest corner of the Rizal Park in Luneta Phase II lies a 300 square-meter space for the annual Rice Garden project. It is a screened-house just in front of the Manila Hotel. It houses the seedlings of three varieties of rice. These varieties are the traditional rice, modern or high yielding variety, and the hybrid rice.
    The traditional rice is tall, takes a long time to fully grow, and produces small amount of yield or grains. They fall over with increase in fertilizer because of their height. Milagrosa and Dinorado, which are commonly seen in rice stalls, are under this variety. 
    High Yielding varieties (HYVs) or modern rice, on the other hand, have short and strong stems. Modern rice varieties, such as PSB Rc18 and IR64, have upright leaves making them efficient in food-making or what we call in plants as photosynthesis. They have higher yield and respond better to fertilizer than traditional rice. 
    Hybrid rice is the product of crossing two genetically dissimilar parents. They are expected to yield 15-25% more grains than many popular HYVs using the same production practices. An example of this variety is the Bigante Rice, which is filled with vitamins and minerals—such as protein, calcium, carbohydrates, iron, and Vitamins B1, B2 and B3—in every cup.
    PhilRice will provide maintenance workers who will take care of the Rice Garden and other displays related to the project until the harvest month. The city will witness the Rice Garden’s 8th year Harvest Festival on November.

Rice Garden’s Birthday Bash
    In the Ceremonial Harvesting, 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. 
    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.
    Truly, this would be another exciting experience for all those who could be part of it. Perhaps this will help Filipinos start regaining the importance of every grain of rice. Hopefully, they will realize that—unlike in bedtime stories—rice will not roll on your doorsteps and knock.

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