PhilRice will celebrate its 22nd Anniversary on November 5-8, 2007 as a kick-off activity of the Rice Awareness Celebration. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Proclamation 524, declaring every November as National Rice Awareness Month in the Philippines.

Department of Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap and Institute of Human Genetics -National Institute of Health Assistant Director Eva Maria C. Cutionco-dela Paz will grace this year’s anniversary celebration to be held in the PhilRice Central Experiment Station based in Maligaya, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija.

This year’s anniversary theme is, “Tugon sa Hamon ng Agrikultura Tungo sa Ikauunland ng Magsasaka.”
The four-day celebration will highlight the following activities: spiritual enrichment, employees’ recognition, Santiago R. Obien (SRO) Seminar, and launching of publications.

A total of 109 employees will be commended, and will receive outstanding employees’, special citation, loyalty, and scholastic awards plus cash prizes. The awards are given every year to deserving PhilRice staff.

Dr. Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi, regional director of the Asian Regional Center, Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Bangkok, Thailand will share his insights on Bringing Science to Farmers: A Development Imperative during the SRO Seminar, another annual activity conducted during the PhilRice anniversary.

Two of the publications to be launched during the event are the books on Rise with Rice and the Pains of Success Behind the Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program. The Rise with Rice book, authored by the veteran agricultural journalist Dr. Sosimo Ma. Pablico, is a compilation of successful stories of rice farmers in the country. The Pains of Success book, edited by Dr. Manuel G. Gaspar, Dr. Anselmo S. Roque, and Ms. Diadem Gonzales, presents real stories on the introduction and commercialization of hybrid rice in the Philippines.

During the big event, product developers also will show their creativity and innovativeness in the Rice Race 2007: Search for the All-Filipino Rice Beverage. All-Filipino rice beverage is a form of drink prepared from any type of rice sold in the market.

Moreover, PhilRice is also scheduled to distribute an extension kit/bag to extension workers in Nueva Ecija during the four-day event. The kit, which contains various information materials on rice, is prepared and designed to enhance the capacity of rice extension workers in the Philippines. A project funded by the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture program, GMA-Rice, and PhilRice, the kit will be distributed to 13,000 extension workers nationwide.

Not only that, a seminar will also be given by two long-tem experts on demonstration-technology promotion from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) during the week-long anniversary celebration. The experts Mr. Moriyuki Shigyo and Mr. Kunio Inoue will talk about the success, status, and lessons learned from the JICA-Technical Cooperation Project 3 (TCP 3), a collaborative project of JICA and PhilRice that focuses on the development and promotion of location-specific integrated high-yielding rice and rice-based technologies. Mr. Ryosuke Ito, coordinator of JICA-TCP, will serve as forum moderator during the said seminar.

Other activities during the week-long celebration include the sports fest, variety show, dance contest, video documentary competition, and open house.