New rice museum in Ilocos Norte to raise awareness of rice culture

A rice museum has been opened in Batac City in Ilocos Norte, to let Filipinos know about the importance of rice in the Philippines.

The museum features various breeds of palay, from the traditional to the newer ones, GMA Ilocos' Mark Masudo reported Wednesday on GMA News TV's "Balita Pilipinas Ngayon."



"Kasi may mga nawawalang practices na we may able  to bring back na makakatulong or still effective until now," said Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) science research specialist Floper Gershwin Manuel.

Aside from featuring the types of rice, the museum also displays implements and tools, mostly from the Cordillera region.

PhilRice hopes the rice museum will encourage residents and farmers to discover other breeds of palay.

"At the same time you don’t need to be agriculturist, we just want to encourage everyone to be more aware about rice culture in the Philippines," added Manuel. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News