(Press Release)
SeedWorks Philippines is extending the partnership with the Caut Farmers Field School (FFS) Marketing Cooperative, for the purchase, milling, and marketing of US 88 hybrid rice harvested by partner rice farmers in the area, during the Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on July 13, 2022. The partnership started last year and has immediately made an impact on the lives of farmers and consumers in Central Luzon.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties, the agricultural seed company will help link US 88 rice farmers with rice traders and millers who are willing to purchase US 88 palay (unhusked rice produce) at prices that are higher than the prevailing farm gate prices. Thus, local rice farmers could increase their income.
In turn, the traders and millers will obtain support from SeedWorks PH through marketing US 88 rice produce. The marketing efforts include linking millers and consumers (in the process reducing intermediaries that add up to retail prices) and providing the packaging for milled US 88 rice in 25-kilogram sacks, which make the produce easier to sell through retailers and to end consumers.
“SeedWorks keeps its commitment to further empower local rice farmers in the countryside by helping link them with millers who can pay higher prices for the premium-quality rice harvests,” said SeedWorks Philippines President Carlos Saplala. “We have successfully launched this program in 2021 and as promised, we are bringing this promising scheme to more farmers across the country.”
Branding and marketing support
SeedWorks PH is providing specially designed milled rice sacks to partner millers and traders, who are then branding the commodity as US 88 Premium Quality Rice (classified as hybrid Dinorado).
So far, the brand of commercial rice has been reaping praises from traders and consumers alike. US 88 rice is gaining popularity and demand in the market as it is noted for its long grain and consistently soft quality when cooked, which also does not easily spoil, helping avoid unnecessary food wastage.
This strategy is aimed at enabling traders and millers to help local rice farmers, especially those who cultivate US 88 hybrid rice, to make more money from their harvests through higher purchase prices of their commodity. For numerous years now, low farm gate prices are among the issues affecting productivity and profitability in local rice farming.
SeedWorks PH turns over a thousand sacks for rice packaging.
Supporting the new government
Such programs also serve as SeedWorks PH’s own initiative to support the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who has also assumed the agriculture department chief position so he can personally oversee development in the industry.
President Marcos Jr has identified food security and high cost of food as among the most pressing problems he aim to address as agriculture chief. “We have to attend to the impending food crisis that it seems it will be visiting us in the next two quarters. When we look around the world, everyone is preparing for it. We are already at a disadvantageous position in terms of food supply.”
SeedWorks’ US 88 hybrid rice variety has been proven to significantly increase yield up to about 15 metric tons per hectare (in optimal conditions). That is more than thrice higher than the national yield average of 4.08 metric tons, based on December 2020 data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
“We are happy to continuously spread the good news about US 88 and help our local rice farmers overcome the common issues they face. We welcome Caut-FSS Marketing Cooperative to this program. At the same time, we are also inviting more local farmers and traders to join this cause,” Saplala concluded.
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