Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija—The science community here
celebrated the county’s sustained good harvest in an exhibit dubbed as
“Bountiful Harvest,” at the Rice Science Museum on Feb. 23.
Earlier, Agriculture Sec.
Proceso J. Alcala announced that the Philippine agriculture in 2014 has
achieved growth despite “strong typhoons that battered some key production
areas.” Palay output reached 19 million metric tons or 2.87 percent more than
last year’s harvest.
Located at the Philippine
Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the museum showcased farm implements from
the colonial to modern era of Nueva Ecija, one of the country’s top producing
rice provinces. A gallery on women’s contributions to good harvest was also
displayed.
“One of the sections here
features traditional postharvest materials from the farmers of Nueva Ecija that
the Central Luzon State University collected. By viewing these artifacts, the
visitor is given a glimpse of the past, when technology was simple and life was
different,” Diadem Esmero, museum curator said.
Visitors from the science
community such as the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and
Mechanization and the Philippine Carabao Center learned more about the
intricacies of farm implements including rakem, lingkaw, and bangkang
pangpinawa.
“Photographs on the ‘Woman of
Rice’ also humble us with the strength and sacrifice that women give to
agriculture,” she said.
In a study by Maria Daryl
Leyesa in 2008, she found that women in agriculture spend as long as 11 hours
of daily work during the planting and harvesting seasons. Women also spent 2.33
more days in harvesting than men and 2.75 more days in drying rice. Moreover,
their top farm activities were planting, harvesting, weeding, and accessing
production capital.
Traditional and modern rice
varieties across the country were also displayed. (PhilRice)
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