MARKET-DRIVEN PRODUCT CONCEPTS FOR PRIORITY RICE MARKET SEGMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Rice breeding programs in the Philippines have resulted in many developed varieties focusing on yield improvement, abiotic stress tolerance, and biotic stress resistance. Downstream rice value chain actors such as millers, traders, and consumers, which demand grain quality and nutritional traits, have less preference for these varieties resulting in a low varietal turnover. Matching the needs of the farmers and the preferences of chain actors is crucial for varietal development. This research aims to generate market-driven product concepts for specific market segments for a well-targeted breeding program. Province profiles on geography, growing culture, maturity duration, biotic and abiotic traits, and grain and cooking quality preferences from 42 provinces were collected and validated. The data were used to identify market segments and their corresponding trait requirements. Out of the 33 segments identified, 11 priority market segments were prioritized based on the size of the area covered – four for DSR denoted as DELS-I, DELS-R, DELSt-I, and DELS-U and seven for TPR represented as TELS-I, TELSt-I, TELS-R, TMeLSt-I, TELSt-R, TMeLS-I, and TEMS. One product concept was developed for each priority market segment, which serves as a blueprint by the major breeding institutions such as IRRI, DA-PhilRice, and UPLB in jointly developing standards for making breeding decisions consistent with the demands of farmers and other key actors in the rice value chain. Following the outputs during the breeders' forum and workshop, the identified priority market segments were deployed in 18 provinces for the wet season of the year 2023. These provinces include Iloilo, Bulacan, Laguna, Sultan Kudarat, Leyte, Bohol, Nueva Ecija, North Cotabato, Bukidnon, Camarines Sur, Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija, Agusan del Norte, Nueva Ecija, and Cagayan. The remaining provinces, with their corresponding market segments, will be included in subsequent cropping seasons.