Rice, that great equalizer in many parts of the world. And for Filipinos the soul of our being. The essence of what makes the Pinoy both a unique denizen and a citizen of this great archipelago.
This is because in our country, rice is more than just a staple—it is woven into the very fabric of Filipino culture both nourishing his stomach and fueling her enterprise.
For Filipinos, no table is complete without a nice warm serving of rice. From the simplest family dinner to the grandest of fiesta celebrations, rice is ever-present.
It is also transformed into a myriad of dishes that showcase the country’s rich culinary heritage, which is why the price of rice lies at the very top of every administration’s economic development agenda.
When he assumed office in 2022, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Inherited a regime of inflationary prices in basic commodities -- including rice -- which were caused by a still prevailing upward trend in commodities worldwide.
In his desire for the country to attain food security and keep the prices of agricultural products to a bare minimum, President Marcos, during his early months in Malacanang, assumed the agriculture portfolio knowing fully well that the intransigent price of rice is just a microcosm of what bedevils the agriculture sector.
These ills include development neglect, climate change, rural strife, and even educational trends.
In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, 2024, the President acknowledged the dire need to further lower the prevailing price of rice, despite the gradual decline already achieved through several government interventions.
"Bagamat maganda ang mga istatistikang ito [rice prices going down incrementally], wala itong kabuluhan sa ating kababayan na hinaharap ang reyalidad na mataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin, lalo na ang pagkain—lalo't higit, ng bigas," the President said in his SONA.
“Totoo, puwersa ng merkado—sa ating bansa at maging sa buong daigdig—ang siyang nagdidikta ng presyo. Bunsod ito, halimbawa, ng giyera, problema sa supply, at puwersa ng kalikasan, tulad ng El Niño na naranasan din sa ibang bansa. Subalit hindi na ito mahalagang alalahanin ng ating mga kababayang nabibigatan sa presyo ng bigas,” he added.
The President then reiterated that his administration recognizes the country’s rice problem. He underscored the fact that government is doing something about it, saying: “Mahal kong mga kababayan, alam kong damang-dama ninyo ito. Hindi natin winawalang-bahala ang inyong mga hinaing at hirap na dinaranas.”
The Marcos administration has been implementing various projects and programs to bring rice prices down and ensure there is enough supply for everyone, even in lean times.
The President tasked different government agencies to help ensure steady and bountiful supply of palay to meet the year-round high demand for reasonably priced rice.
Now that he assigned the sector to a technocrat and expert, President Marcos’ standing edict to all agencies under the economic and agriculture cluster is to work tirelessly until the price of rice stabilizes at an affordable level.
Harnessing technology for more bountiful palay harvest
And one of the first to answer the President’s challenge is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which has developed various technologies that could enhance both the quality and quantity of palay and improve rice productivity and sustainability in the process.
A notable example is the Palatak Palay Seeder that the agency launched in Oriental Mindoro in November 2024 as part of the DOST's larger goal of building smart and sustainable cities in the MIMAROPA region.
The Palatak Palay Seeder was originally developed by homegrown inventor Engr. Delfin Cuevas, Jr., a native of Oriental Mindoro who worked over three decades abroad.
Back home for good, Engr. Cuevas used his expertise in electronics and automation to create what he initially called “6-row Multi-Grain Precision Seeder with Fertilizer Applicator”—a machine that could mechanize farming and make it easier, faster, and more precise.
Engr. Cuevas built the prototype of his machine from scratch using a 3D printer but did not know how to commercialize it so that other farmers could use it, too.
Then, upon the advice of his brother, Engr. Cuevas sought the help of the DOST to patent his invention and, ultimately, roll it out to Filipino farmers.
DOST-MIMAROPA, through the agency’s Intellectual Property Rights Application Program under the Technology Application and Promotion Institute, helped the humble engineer patent his invention as part of DOST’s thrust to safeguard local technologies.
Additionally, the DOST extended technical and financial assistance to Engr. Cuevas to help him scale up his creation.
“Sinimulan ko ang proyektong ito tatlong taon na ang nakalipas, at ito ay nagkaroon ng magandang epekto sa ating mga magsasaka dito,” said Engr. Cuevas as he recalled his invention’s humble beginning.
“Pino-promote din nila ang produktong Palatak Palay Seeder. Ito ay naging isang konsepto at tinulungan ako ng Kagawaran ng Agham at Teknolohiya (DOST) mula sa patent. Laking pasasalamat ko sa kanila dahil sila ang naging gulugod ko, sila ang naging gabay ko sa lahat ng pag-unlad ng aking produkto,” Cuevas added.
Thus, the Palatak Palay Seeder was officially born. It’s a modern farming implement specifically designed to streamline rice direct seeding, which is generally a labor-intensive and time-consuming process.
This innovation mechanizes seeding, reduces labor requirements, and supports sustainable rice farming while offering farmers in Oriental Mindoro potential savings of up to ₱9,000 per hectare.
The DOST proved the worthiness of the state-of-the-art technology in September 2024, when the palay planted using the Palatak Palay Seeder was harvested at a DOST demo farm in Malalad, Calapan City.
This demonstration was part of the DOST’s broader “Smart and Sustainable Rice Farming Solutions” project in Oriental Mindoro, which is under the agency’s Smart and Sustainable Communities Program.
Its overarching goal is to introduce local farmers in Calapan to seeder technology as an alternative to conventional, labor-intensive rice farming practices.
During the demonstration, partially germinated seeds were directly planted onto the 1,200 square meter demo site on June 1, 2024. After three months, the site produced a bountiful harvest: 20 bags of palay seeds, with each bag weighing 60 kilograms.
The yield was even greater than initially anticipated by the farmers who took part in the demonstration, as they estimated a total harvest of around 12 bags only.
“Ang tantya ko ay mga 12 na sako lang dahil maliit lang ‘yung lupa,” says Roberto Tumala, who was one of the farmers onsite. “Panalo ang harvest, ita-try ko ang Palatak,” he said.
Everybody wins
Indeed, farmers who use the Palatak Palay Seeder stand to gain considerable benefits.
The most notable of these benefits, as the demonstration in Malalad, Calapan City showed, is a pronounced increase in rice productivity as the high-tech feeder is used to plant partially germinated seeds directly into the soil, which results in a bountiful harvest.
Another major benefit in implementing this innovation to rice farming is the significant reduction in labor costs as labor-intensive tasks – like planting palay in the rice field, in particular – are streamlined, mechanized, and simplified.
By increasing palay yield and slashing farming-related expenses, rice farmers can next look forward to bigger earnings and, potentially, a better life ahead.
As a bonus, the amount of work they will have to devote to farming will be reduced as well, giving them more time to rest and get family time.
“Ang Palatak Seeder ay malaking tulong sa mga gastos ng mga magsasaka. Dahil karaniwan, ang ginagawa nila para sa pagtatanim sa araw na iyon, ngayon, ay nagkakahalaga ng P10,000,” Engr. Cuevas explained.
“Dito, sa Palatak Palay Seeder, dalawa lang ang ginagamit namin na nagpapalitan, na ang minimum dito sa aming lugar, P500 bawat isa. Kaya, ang gastos namin dito ay P1,000 bawat ektarya. Kung ikukumpara sa Taloc, na para sa transplanting, ang minimum doon ay P10,000 bawat ektarya. Ang tagal nun,” he added.
Rolly Santiago, a farmer now benefiting from the Palatak Palay Seeder, is endorsing the innovation for these very reasons, claiming: “Napakahirap magtanim, lalo na noon, sa hapon na nalalantad ka sa init at sa hapon ay 150 na lang ang makukuha mo, parang tapos na talaga. Talagang mahirap para sa mga miyembro ng pamilya,” he said.
“Nais kong hikayatin kayong gumamit ng Palatak Palay Seeder. Sulit ito dahil available ito kahit saan, maaari itong gamitin para makatipid ng pera, at para makatipid ng lakas-paggawa.”
But while the Palatak Palay Seeder’s main goal is to help rice farmers, the government is also set to benefit from large-scale use of this innovation.
Initially, DOST-MIMAROPA turned over 19 units of Palatak Palay Seeder in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, where they will be used by the city’s three largest rice-producing communities and some small-scale farming groups.
Once this innovation is implemented across the Philippines, the country’s rice supply is expected to increase substantially, enough to cover several months at a time. It could also help the Philippines become a rice exporter instead of an importer.
For the bigger picture, this seeder technology will potentially reduce the prices of rice and probably help President Marcos fulfill his ultimate promise of rice priced at P20 a kilo.
Ultimately, Filipino consumers stand to be the biggest beneficiaries of the DOST’s Palatak Palay Seeder, especially when it is rolled out to the country’s top palay-producing regions of Central Luzon (3.64 million metric tons of palay harvested in 2023), Cagayan Valley (3.03 million metric tons), and Western Visayas (2.26 million metric tons).
This will pave the way for increased rice production across the country and ensure sufficient, affordable and good-quality rice for every Filipino family.
This should be good news for Filipinos. After all, rice is life.