The Philippines Number 1 Rice Farmer, Mr. Danilo Bolos whose record harvest of 17-metric tons per hectare which remains unequalled was one of the members of the delegation who arrived this morning.
This team was the first potential rice investors from the Philippines who will visit potential rice zones in the country upon invitation by the Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru.
The team led by the former Department of Agriculture Secretary of the Philippines, Dr. Emmanuel Pinol was received at the airport by the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Ambassador to the Philippines, Ms. Betty Palaso and Acting Secretary for the Department of International Trade and Investment, Mrs. Jacinta Warakai Manua.
Dr. Pinol who opened a Rice Demonstration Farm in PNG in 2017 said he invited the ‘outstanding farmer’ Bolos to evaluate the viability of rice farming in the Central Province. Also on the team was Dr. Frisco Malabanan, the former Program Director for Rice Farming in the Philippines and now the Vice President of SL Agritech, the leading Filipino company in Hybrid Rice Seeds production.
These experts with other technical members who are part of the delegation will visit Brown River and Gabadi in the Kairuku District tomorrow and Rigo on Thursday before returning to the Philippines on Friday.