The Philippines can ensure rice security while reducing poverty, according to the book “Securing Rice, Reducing Poverty: Challenges and Policy Directions.”

The book, co-published by SEARCA, Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Agricultural Research, recommends, among other things, policy reforms in terms of intensified public investment in irrigation, extension, research and development (R&D) in agriculture, particularly in rice.

Edited and co-authored by SEARCA director and professor of economics, Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan, and PhilRice Executive Director Leocadio S. Sebastian, the book advocates for a strong adoption of appropriate and enabling policies that strengthen the response of rural non-farm sector to agricultural growth and sustain economic expansion. According to the authors, proper application of modern science and technology through client-responsive research and rice extension offers a pathway to sustainable rice security for an increasing Filipino population.

The book includes chapters on rural finance; managing rice extension; rice R&D; external environment, trade regimes, and policy options for rice security; constraints and opportunities in water resources and irrigation development in Philippine rice production, land reform and property rights and their implications to rice security; local governance; rice seed system, biotechnology, and nutrition; prospects and opportunities in farm sustainability and organic farming; supply chain perspective on Philippine rice industry; rice marketing and distribution in the Philippines; and food safety in rice. These chapters were written by experts in the said disciplines.

The book has an easy-to-read condensed version. For details, please contact Dr. Arnulfo G. Garcia, manager of SEARCA’s Research and Development Department, at (049) 536-2290 local 133/121.