Development of Organic Rice Flour and Value-added Products for Community Farmers in Negros Occidental Province, Philippines
September 2023
Landscapes/Seascape: Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) and Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) – MOUNTAIN AREAS
State/District and Town/Village: Towns of Calatrava, Don Salvador Benedicto, San Carlos and Bago City, Negros Occidental, Western Visayas
Project Start Date: October 2023
Project duration: 12 months
Even with the Organic Agriculture program of the province and national government, there is still a huge gap of full organic rice farms in Negros Occidental. Prices are not competitive with regular rice, thus there is a need to develop value added products to organic rice in order to provide additional income to small farmers (women and youth). There is also a need to support young farmers to go into organic agriculture through these micro small enterprises of organic rice flour products such as noodles, baked products, etc. NISARD will take the lead in this proposal in partnership with FFI. FFI is currently operating a certified rice mill. The organic rice (black, brown, red and white) produced by the mill outsourced from the small farmers can be further developed into organic rice flour which has a higher value and applications because of the international market demand. This will provide additional income to the small farmers and with the growing demand of organic rice flour, NISARD hopes to expand and sustain the organic rice production in the province.
The target areas will cover small farmers composed of women, indigenous group and youth who are members of NOOFWA from the upland communities within the towns and cities of Don Salvador Benedicto, Calatrava, Bago and San Carlos in the province of Negros Occidental.
Organic rice flour products will be developed and tested in cooperation with private and public organizations. Several capacity training and skills upgrading will be provided to the target farmers and members of the NOOFWA. NISARD will support the market linkages and business development of these products to provide additional income for the small community farmers in the upland/forest land.
Agriculture sustainability and productivity has been declining especially in rice production. The Philippines as an agricultural country has experienced similar conditions where several small-scale rice farmers are beset with environmental degradation such as the declining soil quality and fertility. The rice farmers also faced financial instability with low farm gate prices offered by traders and with the high production costs e.g. fuel, the margin of income is very minimal. The country also suffers from the loss of farm labor as younger people look for other, higher-paying jobs in the urban areas. To worsen the situation, agro-chemical companies promote input-intensive methods of rice cultivation and the use of input intensive hybrid rice seeds. All this leaves the Filipino rice farmers struggling with a vicious cycle of chemical dependency and financial debt in order to attain decent yields.
Currently, the Philippines aims to have self-sufficiency in rice production through the development and promotion of sustainable farming systems including organic rice farming. Restoring biodiversity is one measure where native fish and edible snails begin to thrive in organic rice paddies, there is also an increase of organic materials in the
paddies with the use of organic fertilizers.
Agriculture has been main economic driver of Negros Occidental which is comprised of 540,386 hectares of agricultural land area. It is considered as one of the investment priority areas, to ensure food security and agricultural productivity. The rice production in the province has reached 467,100.30MT in 2016 coming from 108,822 has. of area harvested with 3.87 MT/Ha. average yield.
FFI’s mill has produced a monthly average of 60 MT of milled organic rice and 95% of sales are wholesale supplied to select supermarkets in the country. A total of 176 farmers who utilize the rice mill (2023). Aside from the regular organic rice, Oryza sativa (brown, red and white rice), the mill has an annual production of 6,993 kilos of broken organic rice (Php 36.00 per kilo, $ 0.64 ) worth Php 48,951 pesos ($ 874.12). This can be further developed into rice flour which has a higher value and applications. Rice flour also known as rice powder is a form of flour made from finely milled rice either white or brown rice. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour and it is also used as a thickening agent in recipes. Rice flour can be used to make confections, noodles or ramen. Rice flour is gluten-free and is referred to as “hypoallergenic” meaning that there is a low risk of an allergic reaction. Many international food formulators use rice flour for baby and toddler food or specialized food for adults with gluten intolerance. The US Food and Drug Administration has published a safe level for rice cereal products intended for infants aligned with the European Commission regulation that applies to all types of infant rice-
based cereals (e.g., white rice, brown rice, organically grown).
The proposed project will create additional economic incentives to small farmers, improve and expand the organic rice farms in the province of Negros Occidental. The action will develop new organic rice flour products which will create additional income to small farmers, this will also increase the demand for organic rice. Farmers will be trained to develop value added products and create new markets and micro enterprises for ramen, bakery products, etc. They will also be trained on the IQCS data gathering to support the organic certification of their rice farms. With the success of the proposed
action, this will create awareness to the public (consumers) for an alternative organic rice flour for ramen, baked products and porridge as a start.
In order to sustain these initiatives, NISARD will partner with the small farmers through the NOOFWA and provincial government in accessing markets ie. IFOAM Asia and financial support e.g. Department of Agriculture to the livelihood programs, creation of new markets and upgrading the products e.g. Department of Trade and Industry. While FFI will support the organic rice farm expansion, organic certification through IQCS and organic rice mill operations.
A. The proposed project aims to develop added value to the organic rice by developing new organic rice flour products. This will provide additional income to the small farmers and with the growing demand of organic rice flour, NISARD and FFI hopes to expand and sustain the organic rice production in the province. The proposed project will be in coordination with the provincial government e.g. Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, private enterprises such as FFI, NOOFWA and relevant national agencies e.g. Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry.
The proposed project has the following impacts:
A.1 Socio-economic. Through the value adding of the organic rice into new products, the small organic rice farmers will have additional skills and income from producing and selling organic rice products such as ramen, baked goods, etc. The expansion of organic rice farms will provide additional income to the small farmers due to the demand created by the new products.
A.2 Environmental. The promotion of organic rice farming without the use of chemicals in rice production will be essential in the conservation and protection of the natural resources within the LGUs and supports the Protected Area management plans of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park and North Negros Natural Park. This will create an awareness in the local communities and the consumer public about the value of biodiversity conservation and promotion of clean, healthy food through organic rice farming.
A.3 Rural Development Empowerment. The small rice farmers will be trained in the production of new organic rice products, at the same time, they will be part of the IQCS field data gathering together with NISARD and FFI for the certification of their farms. Through the NOOFWA, the local organization will be capacitated to handle the micro enterprise. The project will include women, indigenous members and (youth) children of the small farmers, this will create interests from the youth to become farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.
The proposed project has the following specific objectives:
B. Project Results:
At the end of the project, it is envisioned to develop a new market for organic rice through the development of value-added organic rice flour products. This will provide additional skills to the farmers and income from the enterprise development, at least 120 farmers from the area. Skills training will also include NISARD and FFI personnel, members of the NOOFWA farmers and workers. It is also aimed to increase the organic rice farms by 10 hectares and has been monitored through the Internal Quality Control System (IQCS), this will also capacitate the farmers in monitoring their crops and production (at least 120 project partners are trained and upgraded their skills). The success of the project will encourage more farmers especially the youth to engage in organic rice production, at least 10% increase in organic rice farms (10 hectares from the 4 LGU’s). Manuals, guide books and products will be shared with the NOOFWA members, provincial government’s Office of Provincial Agriculturists, Provincial Technology and Livelihood Center, the Department of Trade and Industry, academic institutions example Central Philippine State University, etc.
