Organic Brown Rice Provides More Benefits

Brown rice pushed as centerpiece of organic agriculture.

Compare the nutrients of brown and white rice in the table above. You'll see that brown rice is more nutritious and healthy for your body.

Brown or unpolished rice has become the center of a campaign by organic farming advocates that seeks to ensure health and nutrition security, and in support of a government campaign for the efficient production and consumption of unpolished rice.

Roland Cabigas, managing director of La Liga Policy Institute (La Liga) and a convener of Go Organic! Philippines, said a change in the way “we do agriculture in the Philippines is necessary to veer away from the harmful effects of excessive use of agrochemicals.”

“A change in the lifestyle and preference of the Filipino people, such as their eating habit, will be crucial in addressing the challenge of food self-sufficiency and security,” Cabigas said.

The cultivation of organic rice varieties, for instance, will help boost food production as it does not require too much capital.  In conventional farming, farmers need to buy expensive chemicals to boost plant growth and ensure high yield.

Organic rice varieties, cultivated using organic fertilizers which farmers can source from their farms and easily produce, will allow farmers with very little capital to do business, he told the BusinessMirror in an interview.

La Liga and Go Organic! issued a statement supporting Agriculture Secretary Proceso T. Alcala’s initiative to promote the production of brown rice in Northern Luzon as well as its consumption by the general public.

The country’s food czar said production of brown rice, instead of well-milled rice, will boost productivity and help reduce the country’s dependence on imported well-milled rice, Cabigas noted.

In encouraging Northern Luzon farmers to produce more brown rice, the DA chief said producing brown rice will help reduce losses in the milling of palay by approximately 10 percent to 20 percent.        

Processing palay into well-milled white grains requires large amounts of fuel and equipment, and machines occasionally damage the grains, he said.  This is not the case for unpolished rice which requires a less extensive milling process, he said.

The recovery process for well-milled rice is only 65 percent while in unpolished or brown rice, it is 75 percent to 85 percent.  The difference of 20 percent will spell a big difference when it comes to reducing the demand-supply gap for rice.

La Liga and Go Organic! Philippines are aggressively promoting organic farming in the Philippines and supports the cultivation of organic rice varieties.

“Unlike hybrid rice varieties, organic rice varieties do not easily spoil and are healthier, especially when they are under-milled,” Cabigas said.

Brown rice is under-milled rice, in that the husk, germ and bran layers have only been partially removed. 

Experts say that brown rice is rich in fibers, and helps control blood sugar and cholesterol.  It is said to be a body building food and beneficial for stomach, and intestinal ulcers and for diarrhea. 

Brown rice is easily digested starch food.  Because of the mineral content, it supplies important nutrient for the hair, teeth, nails, muscles and bones.

By Business Mirror


Organic Brown Rice is Better for Everyone

From the farmer to the consumer, brown rice has more benefits than white rice. Try a brown and white rice combination. Enjoy the good taste of high quality white rice with the better nutrition of brown rice. It tastes good and is good for your health!

Nutriplant Nutriplus Organics Protocol Input Costs Per Hectare for All Types of Crops

Includes organic nutrients for seed sowing.

P2,500 1 Spray Application - For Rice Always Apply at Panicle Initiation

P3,800 2 Spray Application - Typical for rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

P5,200 3 Spray Application - Full Nutriplant Nutriplus application protocol with no other application required of any other nutrient fertilizer products.

Increase harvests, naturally organically, with lower input costs.

Good for the farmer, the environment, and the consumer.




Nutriplant Organic Fertilizers

Click the links below to naturally and organically increase harvest productions with lower input costs.

Click here to review Nutriplus NPK 4-18-18 Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant AG Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant SD Organic Seed Germination Fertilizer

Click here to review APSA80 All Purpose Spray Adjuvant

Click here to review Nutriplus K+ Potassium

Click here to review Nutriplus Zn+ Zinc

N. Cotabato Farmers Receive Govt Support

Alcala Turns Over P13.9-M Farm Projects to N. Cotabato Farmers

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala turned over P13.5 million worth of agricultural support inputs and livestock to farmers in North Cotabato and urged them to use high-yielding varieties of rice and select efficient rice mills to support the government’s rice self-sufficiency target.

The bulk of the funds or P10 million went to the dispersal of 70 heads of cows and carabaos, according to the Soccsksargen Agriculture office.

Half of the amount was shouldered by the province’s First District Rep. Jesus Sacdalan through his Priority Development Assistance Fund. The other P5 million was released by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The DA also released P2 million for the 57,142 rubber-budded seedlings that were distributed. Also distributed were 40,000 coconut seedlings worth P1 million and 33,350 coffee seedlings worth P500,000.

The agricultural assistance came with four units of shallow tube wells worth P100,000 each and small farm implements. These were turned over at simple rites in barangay 8, Midsayap, North Cotabato.

Aside from the support, Alcala also assured North Cotabato residents that he would confer with Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson on controlling the flood after every heavy rainfall.

Alcala especially urged farmers to improve their agricultural practices to increase the recovery rate of palay being dried.  He said his office would put up additional dryers and “to advise farmers to select the effective rice mill to have a 65-percent to 70-percent recovery rate of their produce and lessen spillage.”

“The Land Bank of the Philippines can provide funds for a much better rice milling facility,” he told farmers in the area.

The government goal was five metric tons per hectare “to attain rice sufficiency in the country.” Alcala said the recovery program would focus “on the selection of the right variety of rice seeds to produce more yields.”

Support infrastructure was already given to the province such as storage and drying facilities.

He also said government was implementing the Organic Agricultural Act of 2010, or Republic Act 10068 “which will be of great help to farmers who are promoting ecologically-friendly agriculture products.”

Municipal agriculturists would also be trained “to produce organic fertilizers to help farmers against the high costs of inputs.

The Agriculture secretary said on Saturday during the 65th Commencement Exercises of the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato, that “there will no longer be rice importation by 2013 under the DA’s Agri-Pinoy program.”

He said only last year, the Philippines was “the No. 1 importer of rice in the world with 2.4 million metric tons. This year, Indonesia ranks as the top importer with 1.5 million metric tons.”

“Dahil sa ganda ng klima sa Mindanao, dahil sa ang gagaling ng tao sa Mindanao, gagawin nating agricultural hub ng buong bansa ang Mindanao,” Alcala said.

By Business Mirror


Thank You Secretary Alcala

We congratulate and are proud of Secretary Alcala efforts to help the Philippine farmers in all aspects of their farming efforts. Through a concerted team effort from the government and private agri-business, the Philippines can become food self-sufficient and a net rice and food exporter benefiting everyone involved.

Nutriplant Nutriplus Organics Protocol Input Costs Per Hectare for All Types of Crops

Includes organic nutrients for seed sowing.

P2,500 1 Spray Application - For Rice Always Apply at Panicle Initiation

P3,800 2 Spray Application - Typical for rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

P5,200 3 Spray Application - Full Nutriplant Nutriplus application protocol with no other application required of any other nutrient fertilizer products.

Increase harvests, naturally organically, with lower input costs.

Good for the farmer, the environment, and the consumer.




Nutriplant Organic Fertilizers

Click the links below to naturally and organically increase harvest productions with lower input costs.

Click here to review Nutriplus NPK 4-18-18 Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant AG Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant SD Organic Seed Germination Fertilizer

Click here to review APSA80 All Purpose Spray Adjuvant

Click here to review Nutriplus K+ Potassium

Click here to review Nutriplus Zn+ Zinc

More Rice Crisis & Price Increases

The NFA Says Get Ready for P2 Per Kilo Increase in Rice Prices

The prices of commercial rice might increase by P2 a kilo as a result of rising fuel prices, the National Food Authority warned Tuesday. “When the present harvest is almost over by July, the price of local commercial rice may increase by as much as P2 per kilo despite projections of a good harvest,” administrator Angelito Banayo said.

DA: Rice Crisis Rumors to Hit Farmers

As suspicions emerged that rice cartels are benefiting from the alleged rice shortage in the country, Undersecretary Salvador Salacup of the Department of Agriculture said he would rather focus on who is at a disadvantage: the farmer.

While those behind the false reports should be investigated and penalized, Salacup stressed that the damage the rumors will do to farmers is a bigger concern.

“The buying price [of rice] sa farm gate ay naglalaro sa P16.20 to P16.40, magandang presyo iyan. Pero kapag sasabihing may krisis at kailangang mag-angkat ay baka ma-dampen ang farm gate prices,” Salacup told ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda.

Such false rumors of a rice shortage will only do harm to the country, he said.

“Sabi nga ni Pangulong Aquino, ‘Let’s increase incomes in the countryside.’ Kaya talagang tinatancha ng mabuti kung ang ilan ang volume na dapat pumasok, para hindi maapektuhan ang selling price ng ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda," he said.

The undersecretary said food security is a primary concern of our country and agriculture serves as its backbone.

“Dapat tigilan ang masasamang balita, ayaw natin ma-dishearten ang farmers. Nasa magsasaka ang pag-asa ng ating bayan. Suportahan natin ang mga magsasaka at mangingisda natin,” he said.

Salacup also dispelled the rice shortage rumors by citing a 15 to 16% increase in the projection of the Department of Agriculture for 2011.

National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Lito Banayo, meanwhile, assured that rice supply is not diminishing.

“Tatagal ng mahigit 80 days [ang supply]. Ang NFA alone, nasa 48 days ang stock ng bigas. Marami tayong bigas, kaya nakapagtataka 'yung looming rice crisis. Hindi iyon totoo,” said Banayo.

A report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the government received a warning from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) about shrinking rice supply was also subsequently denied by the Office of the President on Tuesday.

By ABS-CBN News


Rice & Food Crisis Solutions

We recommend supporting the Philippine farmers in all aspects of their farming efforts to increase Philippine crop productions, food for our country, food for export, income for the farmers, tax revenues, and a overall trickle down positive economic effect long-term for the entire country. Continuing to import rice and or subsidize it will only cost the Philippines more money in the long-term. Success starts with leadership. Through leadership, success can happen and be sustainable. Encourage your government leaders to lead on this concern, and not stop until the job is done.

Nutriplant Nutriplus Organics Protocol Input Costs Per Hectare for All Types of Crops

Includes organic nutrients for seed sowing.

P2,500 1 Spray Application - For Rice Always Apply at Panicle Initiation

P3,800 2 Spray Application - Typical for rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

P5,200 3 Spray Application - Full Nutriplant Nutriplus application protocol with no other application required of any other nutrient fertilizer products.

Increase harvests, naturally organically, with lower input costs.

Good for the farmer, the environment, and the consumer.




Nutriplant Organic Fertilizers

Click the links below to naturally and organically increase harvest productions with lower input costs.

Click here to review Nutriplus NPK 4-18-18 Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant AG Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant SD Organic Seed Germination Fertilizer

Click here to review APSA80 All Purpose Spray Adjuvant

Click here to review Nutriplus K+ Potassium

Click here to review Nutriplus Zn+ Zinc

Philippines Allows Monsanto to Sell Biotech Corn

The Only Double-Stacked Corn Trait with Dual Modes-of-Action Against Corn Earworm

There has been worldwide controversy for many concerns in the past over the sale and use of biotechnology modified and manufactured crop seed. We currently take a neutral position to the use of biotech crop seeds, and are making time to learn more about this new farming technology. We present this article here to encourage all concerned to learn more about and educate themselves on the positives and negatives to using genetically modified and or manufactured farming crop seeds to decide whether or not using biotech seeds is best for them and the environment. If you have knowledge and experience on the use of biotech crop seeds we encourage you to email us your opinion about them.

BPI Allows Monsanto to Sell Biotech Corn to Farmers

The Philippine government granted biotech firm Monsanto to sell its latest biotech corn variant with engineered insect-and-weed resistance for cultivation by farmers in the Philippines.

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), awarded the permit for the traits under event codes MON 89034 x NK603. The traits are covered by permit 11-004 which is effective for five years.

The approval of MON 89034 x NK603 for cultivation opens Philippine farms to the use of a new stack product combining second-generation Yield Gard (YG2) and Round-Up Ready Corn (RRC2), with insect resistance and herbicide tolerance.

Monsanto said in a statement that the G2 trait, conferred by bacterial Bt genes Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2, provides maximum protection against the Asian Corn Borer and good control against corn earworm and common cutworm.

The RRC2 trait, the company said, enables simpler and affordable weed-control management through the use of RoundUp herbicide which kills weeds but not the biotech corn.

Meanwhile, the introduction of YG2 corn to the fields will also enhance insect-resistance management for Bt corn hybrids and extend the longevity of the Bt corn technology. YG2RRC2 corn, also known as VTDouble Pro, is extensively grown in the United States, Brazil and South Africa to provide farmers higher and more stable yields.

Monsanto said the sale of YG2RRC2 in the Philippines will start in May 2011. It noted that the approval of the project came after rigorous regulated field trials for almost three years in several locations across the Philippines and a thorough review of technical papers assessing its effectiveness and safety.

Yield Gard 2 single had been granted cultivation approval on November 19, 2010, after about two and a half years of thorough field testing and technical reviews. Two nontarget organism (NTO) studies were also conducted from 2009 to 2010, which showed no adverse impact of MON 89034 on NTOs.

Monsanto is one of the world’s leading providers of agricultural products and solutions to farmers.

The company has over three decades of presence in the Philippines and is involved today in the promotion of modern agricultural biotechnology. It is also taking the lead in educating Filipino farmers in using biotech products to achieve the country’s aim of food security and sufficiency.

By Business Mirror


Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

Through continuing education on new and even possibly controversial farming techniques, farmers can further understand how to produce higher quality and higher yield crop harvests. Through continued knowledge, setting crop goals, having a farming plan, and taking action, successful harvests can be the result. Help yourself and the Philippines become food self-sufficient and secure. Educate yourself, take action, and share with others what you know and do to help the Philippines become a better place for all to live and enjoy.

Nutriplant Nutriplus Organics Protocol Input Costs Per Hectare for All Types of Crops

Includes organic nutrients for seed sowing.

P2,500 1 Spray Application - For Rice Always Apply at Panicle Initiation

P3,800 2 Spray Application - Typical for rice, corn, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

P5,200 3 Spray Application - Full Nutriplant Nutriplus application protocol with no other application required of any other nutrient fertilizer products.

Increase harvests, naturally organically, with lower input costs.

Good for the farmer, the environment, and the consumer.




Nutriplant Organic Fertilizers

Click the links below to naturally and organically increase harvest productions with lower input costs.

Click here to review Nutriplus NPK 4-18-18 Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant AG Organic Fertilizer

Click here to review Nutriplant SD Organic Seed Germination Fertilizer

Click here to review APSA80 All Purpose Spray Adjuvant

Click here to review Nutriplus K+ Potassium

Click here to review Nutriplus Zn+ Zinc