Field Visitation: A Tour at Rice Production 

Another field visit was conducted by the MMSU Extension Directorate showcasing two rice varieties of the SeedNet project: PSB Rc 82 and NSIC Rc 160. These varieties were planted at the demonstration farm in front of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Sustainable Development (CAFSD) and the Administration Building of the university last August 2017.

The activity was a convergence of farmers from different municipalities in the province including their respective Agricultural Technologists and Municipal Agriculturists, technical experts in rice production, students and faculty from CAFSD, and seed growers. Two a total of 146 participants, divided into two batches, walked down at the Rice Seed Production and Extension Demonstration Farms at 8:00 in the morning facilitated by Mr. Raymund Julius Rosales and Ms. Cleofe Tolentino, SeedNet Project Staff, and Mr. Rolando Rabanal and Mr. Crisanto Cacao, Extension Staff.

The two rice varieties being showcased has been two of the perennial varieties on demand among farmers for their yield produce and their grain and taste quality. NSIC Rc 160, according to PhilRice, has a yield ranging from 5.6 to 8.2 tons per hectare, with variations due to location-specific performances. It is also soft when cooked making it a good choice for family consumption. PSB Rc 82, on the other hand, has a yield of 5.2 to 12 tons per hectare and is moderately soft when cooked.

“The field visitation is one of the promotional strategies of the Extension Directorate for a better and a more fruitful communication with stakeholders especially our farmers”, said Dr. Aris Reynold Cajigal, the Director for Extension, in his presentation of the rationale of the activity.  Moreover, he said that the activity is a continuing strategy for communication and direct observation of standing crop and their respective characteristics, and a communication circle between the students and the farmers with the former being the practitioners in agriculture and the latter focused on the theories. These encounters, according to him, lets the students see the gap and bridge it though agricultural researches, hence the enhancement of rice production in the province.

Rice Tries: The Taste Testing

After the long riceland visit with farmers holding rice panicles, rice taste testing of five rice varieties was also conducted to showcase inbred and hybrid varieties harvested from the President’s Farm: PSB Rc 82, NSCI Rc 160, NSIC Rc 390, LP 937, and SL-18H.

To determine their eating quality, a spoonful of these varieties were plated to MMSU officials and technical experts, agricultural technologists and technicians, students and faculty, and seed growers and farmers. As the most staple food in the every Filipino meal, most farmers consider the eating quality of the crop for its home use and marketability. Hence, to showcase new varieties of rice present in the university, the taste testing is an avenue to promote and encourage the Ilokano taste buds for other rice varieties.

Why Agriculture?

“Farmers are our Modern Day Heroes” said Dr. Cajigal in his opening remarks. They are the unsung heroes serving as the backbone of the economy, the feeder of the working class. With students from the MMSU-CAFSD, a sharing of their reasons for taking BS Agriculture brought smiles and encouragements to farmers as parents and farming enthusiasts. The students for the Dingras campus and the Batac campus actively shared their reasons for choosing Agriculture as a course and as a professional path.

Mr. Efren Marcos from CAFSD Dingras shared “I enrolled in BS Agriculture because I notice in our community, the farmers are already getting old and my fellow youth do not have the heart for farming. They prefer working in factories and others. So, when I got a scholarship, I chose BS Agriculture”.

Hezza Kate Balais from the same campus likewise took pride in her course despite sharing that the course was chosen by her parents, she realized the advantages Agriculture can give to her. She said that seeing her parents make pieces of gold as farmers, she saw their integrity as farmers being able to send them to school and make their eldest daughter graduate as cum laude and pass the BLEPT as Top 6. “Proudak kasi nabiagdakami a nasayaat da nanang ken tatangko” (I am proud because my mother and father reared us well), she said with pride.  

In another lens, Mr. Mark Jayson Navarro said that he took Agriculture to influence the farmers on the improved technologies in managing their fields. “Kayatko a mapasayaat ti ekonomia ti Filipinas in the future” (I want to improve the economy of the Philippines in the future), the budding agriculturist said.

An elder farmer also stood in the crowd to share a story. Taking pride of his contributions as a farmer, his story was a highlight of farmer’s role in feeding the nation.

“Kuna dagiti dadduma, ‘Ni tatangko, inhiniero. Agar-aramid iti napintas a balay ken agaramid kano kadagiti rangtay a pagnaan dagiti ado a lugan’. Kuna met dagitay dadduma nga agbasbasa, ‘Ni tatangko, duktor. Agag-agas kadagitay masakit’. Adda met maysa nga agbasbasa kunana, “Ni tatangko, agtaltalon. No awan agtalon, awan kanen da duktor ken inhiniero’. (Some said, ‘My father is an engineer. He builds beautiful houses and bridges for vehicles to pass through. Some other students said, ‘My father is a doctor. He cures the sick.’ One student said, ‘My father is a farmer. If no one farms, the doctors and engineers will have nothing to eat.)

So, why agriculture? It is a profession for food safety and sustainability. The foundation of all other profession.

RSDP from Their Points of View

“Ti expereinceko kadaytoy Seed Dispersal Project iti UTC-Extension, napintas daytoy a programa. Kas iti naalak a varayti itatta, daytay NSIC Rc 212, kaasi ni Apo, mayat ti apitna. Iti maysa nga ektaria nga inaplayak, nakaalaak met iti 119 sacks a daytay sagga-3 ½ a lata. Ket no addanto man gundawayen, mangalaakto manen iti daytoy Rice Dispersal Project”, the remarks of Mr. Jimmy Banayat, one of the security guard employees of MMSU who availed the said project.

A farmer-beneficiary in the person of Mr. Jeoffrey Agustin from Solsona, Ilocos Norte also shared, “Kas maysa a beneficiary ti Seed Dispersal, dakkel a tulong kaniami daytoy a programa ta ngamin, iti past 2 years nga innak panagpaset titi daytoy a programa, ado ti naalami a gundaway, napaadumi ti apitmi iti naglabas a tawen. Idi last year, ti varaytimi nga Rc 82, ket pudno nga ado ti naapitmi, ket kadaytoy last cropping, main cropping, varaytimi manen ket Rc 360. Ket immapitak iti 90 sacks by 56 kilograms iti maysa ektaria... Ket agyamanak unay ta ti Extension Directorate, mangpabulod kayami a mannalon ti kastoy a programa nga awan interesna. Ket yamanenmi, ket sapay ta agtultuloy koma ti panangipaayyo kadakami ti tulong nga adda kastoy kasayaatna a programa”.

An active practitioner of the enhanced technologies promoted during pre-dispersal trainings in the person of Mr. Edilberto John Ramos of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte likewise stood before the crowd to highlight his experience of the project. He shared his experiences with the use of organic fertilizer and straight row planting in improving his crops for their economic and management values. Hence, he encouraged his fellow participants not to hesitate in attending seminars such as the pre-dispersal trainings because of the knowledge being gained beneficial in improving existing farming practices.

Field visits are activities programmed by the Extension Directorate to provide an avenue to farmers to see demonstration farms of the university highlighting the different technologies promoted by the office. It is an avenue to bring the imagination closer to realities through a closer look at actual fields and deeper discussion and consultation with technical experts. Hence, in the continuing goal of helping farmers help themselves, the MMSU is in full steer towards sustainable and inclusive growth and development of all its stakeholders and community partners, making MMSU a university for all! # (Kim Miguel

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