DA leads study of Cotabato rice varieties

The Department of Agriculture (DA), together with the University of the Philippines-Natural Sciences Research Institute (UP-NSRI), is now conducting a study to examine the genetic diversity of upland rice in Arakan Valley, Cotabato.

Initiated by Dr. Juliet Bangi of UP-NSRI, the study seeks to determine the desirable rice gene characteristics through morphogenetic characterization and analysis of the genetic diversity of the indigenous upland rice in Arakan, which is considered as an upland “rice belt” where a number of indigenous variety of the grain are thriving.