PhilRice to Roll Out Drones4Rice Program Next Year to Support Rice Farming
Key Takeaways
- •PhilRice expects to roll out its Drones4Rice program by 2027 as part of efforts to modernize rice farming in the Philippines.
- •Farmers will receive drone-use instruction under the program, with drone services accessed through the Department of Agriculture in a manner similar to existing seed and fertilizer distribution channels.
- •The program's initial drone application will be seeding at a rate of about 20 to 40 kilograms per hectare, although planting schemes are still being optimized.
- •PhilRice Deputy Executive Director for Research Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang views mechanization as primarily a cost-saving method that enables faster harvesting, particularly ahead of typhoons.
- •Rice is the staple food of the Philippines, where raising farm productivity and lowering production costs are long-standing priorities of national agricultural policy.
The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said it expects to roll out its Drones4Rice program by next year (2027) as part of efforts to help modernize rice farming in the Philippines.
PhilRice Deputy Executive Director for Research Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang told reporters on the sidelines of the agency's Lakbay Palay event at its Central Experiment Station in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, that the Drones4Rice program will give farmers instruction on drone use to improve their planting efficiency.
Mr. Quilang said farmers will be able to access drone services through the Department of Agriculture, with the form of support modeled on programs that distribute farm inputs such as seed and fertilizer to growers. That delivery approach would put drone services within the same channels growers already use for seed and fertilizer support.
The initial use of drones under the program will be seeding, at a rate of about 20 to 40 kilograms per hectare, he said, though the planting schemes are still being optimized — making the exact seeding rate a detail to watch as the rollout approaches.
PhilRice, the government's lead agency for rice research and development under the Department of Agriculture, is headquartered in Muñoz, a city in Nueva Ecija, a province widely regarded as the Philippines' "rice bowl." Agricultural drones are used in farming for tasks such as seed sowing, spraying, and crop monitoring. The institute has also developed digital crop management tools, including the LCC (Leaf Color Computing) app, which allows farmers to gauge their crops' stages of development.
Mr. Quilang said he views mechanization as primarily a cost-saving method and a faster way of bringing in the harvest, particularly ahead of typhoons.
"Through mechan, you'll be able to harvest before the rains come. If you do it manually, you'll get caught by the rain," he added.
Rice is the staple food of the Philippines, where raising farm productivity and lowering production costs are long-standing priorities of national agricultural policy.
— Marron F. Mendoza, BusinessWorld
Source: BusinessWorld
