The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Negros has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to help rice farmers in Negros Occidental gain wider market access, improve productivity, and increase income.
The collaboration was formalized through three separate memoranda of understanding (MOUs) under the Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS) 2.0 Program. The initiative aims to empower farmer cooperatives and associations by enhancing their organizational capacity and creating more opportunities for growth and sustainability.
The MOU signing, held Monday at the PhilRice Negros Station in Barangay Cansilayan, Murcia, was led by PhilRice Negros Branch Director Ommal Abdulkadil, DTI-Negros Occidental Director Lynna Joy Cardinal, and representatives from DAR-Negros Occidental I-North.
In an interview Tuesday, Cardinal said the partnership reaffirms DTI’s commitment to supporting the entrepreneurial development of Negrense farmers.
“We appreciate this invaluable collaboration on the RiceBIS Program. Since 2021, DTI – Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program has been assisting rice farmers in partnership with DA-PhilRice Negros,” she said.
Under the MOU, DTI will provide entrepreneurial training, business consultancy services, and assistance in intellectual property registration to help farmers make their products market-ready and legally protected.
DAR, meanwhile, committed to strengthening farmer organizations by offering market linkage opportunities, access to relevant technologies, and technical inputs for developing organizational building modules to enhance the capacity of cooperatives and associations.
In a statement, DAR emphasized its joint efforts with PhilRice to create better opportunities for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the RiceBIS 2.0 Program.
“With PhilRice providing modern rice technologies and training and DAR supporting farmers through capacity-building and market access, this partnership is designed to help ARBs improve their harvests, earn better incomes, and build stronger, more resilient farming communities,” DAR said.
