MUÑOZ SCIENCE CITY, Nueva Ecija, Philippines — To mark its 25th year anniversary, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) based in this city has planted over 5,000 trees nationwide.

Dubbed as “25 Years and Twenty-five Hundred Trees,” the tree planting activity exceeded its initial target of 2,500 trees.

Fifty-nine percent of the trees were planted by PhilRice stations located in Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Laguna, Negros Occidental, Agusan del Norte, North Cotabato, and Albay; 6 percent by sister agencies and school organizations; 12 percent in adopted schools; 13 percent in watershed areas; and 11 percent in PhilRice Central Experiment Station (CES).

“Yearly tree planting is part of the Collective Negotiations Agreement between the APE and PhilRice. It is also a way of helping the institute reaffirm its commitment to sustain a healthy environment, being ISSO: 14001: 2004 (Environmental Management System) certified,” said Joy Bartolome Duldulao, president of the Association of PhilRice Employees (APE).

The 2010 Rice Awareness and Anniversary committees also participated in the event.

Duldulao also said that the effects of climate change on the rice industry is now being strongly felt and planting trees is one way of helping our rice farmers.