By Rachel Ganancial
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has collected 300 rice varieties from indigenous communities to help preserve heirloom varieties existing in the province of Palawan.
Eleanor Lotivo, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Agriculture Program Coordinating Office, said that the collected varieties were sent to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), where over 180 varieties were found to be original.
Lotivo said some similar varieties could have been named differently in different indigenous communities.
“Ito sa kanila, ang heirloom, ito ang varieties noon na talagang matibay. Meron na kaming nabigay sa PhilRice na varieties na ito, nakolekta natin sa mga katutubo. Pinipilit natin ma-preserve itong mga seeds na ito at ipamigay uli sa kanila,” she said.
The department observed that varieties from indigenous communities were pest-resistant. Those seeds that can withstand pests will be sent back to Palawan.
DA Palawan started to collect seeds in 2025 with the aim to preserve heirloom varieties across the province of Palawan.
“Pinag-aaralan din namin ang mga strange o varieties ng palay na ito na mapakinabangan pa natin hanggang sa susunod na generation pa kasi ito ang mga matitibay sa peste. Ngayon marami na tayong peste dahil iba-ibang hybrid na ang ginagamit natin,” she said.
Aside from collecting and preserving pest-resistant varieties from indigenous communities, DA also assists them in sustainable agriculture through its Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo (4K).
The program serves the farmers and fishers within their ancestral domains in the country. It also includes the provision of production and post-harvest machinery and equipment and various support through community needs assessments.
Among the support extended in Palawan are planting materials such as vegetable and corn seeds, garden tools, and livestock. They were also given agricultural skills training to manage the machinery provided.
“Hindi natin puwede kalimutan ang ating mga kapatid sa kabundukan, mga katutubo,” Lotivo added. (RG/JBG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
