‘Rice crisis’ possible due to El Niño -- Agri group

Accessibility contributes to rise in intellectual property applications

Accessibility and easier processing contribute to the increase in intellectual property (IP) registrations in 2022, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPH).

In a public briefing on Wednesday, IPOPH Deputy Director General Ann Claire Cabochan also attributed the growth to increased public awareness and the creation of laws that recognizes the creativity of Filipinos.

“I think it is also an increased awareness na puwede po nating irehistro iyong mga tinatawag nating yamang isip (that we can register what we call mental resources),” Cabochan said.

“Noong nagkaroon po tayo ng pandemic, lahat ng frontline services ng Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines ay naging online kaagad, so iyung access po dito sa ating mga proseso ay naging madali sa ating mga malilikhaing Pilipino, kaya sila po ay nakapag-apply at iyung kanila pong mga applications ay napu-process at napuprotektahan naman po kapag pumasa po doon sa ating mga rekisitos (When the pandemic struck, all the frontline services of the Intellectual Property Office of

Afarmers’

group on Wednesday warned of a possible rice shortage brought by a looming El Niño phenomenon later this year.

the Philippines immediately went online, so access to our processes became easy for our creative Filipinos, so they were able to apply and their applications are processed and protected as soon as they pass our requirements), she added.

The IPOPHL earlier reported that the registration of IP in 2022 increased by 3.7 percent to 48,259 filings from 46,558 applications in 2021.

Cabochan said among the top IP applications filed at their office include those for patents, which is the biggest number, the utility model and industrial designs, and trademarks especially used by businesses.

She said that IPOPH is targeting to further increase the registration of IPs in the coming years.

With this, Cabochan said the IPOPH is strengthening its information and education campaign with the help of its partners from the private sector and various learning institutions.

They also conduct online webinars to encourage the youth to register their creations or inventions.

Meanwhile, the IPOPH through its “Gawad Yamang Isip” is set to

Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Montemayor said farmers may have lower yields this year due to lower rainfall levels.

Montemayor said the start of El Niño will coincide with the second and third months of the wet season when water is vital for palay growth.

Aside from possible lower yields locally, a rice supply shortage may also be expected internationally, as El Niño may affect other Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, a major source of the Philippines’ rice imports.

“If it affects [the] whole ASEAN area, iyong supply ng bigas baka maapektuhan. Kukulangin ng supply, magmamahal sa international [market], parang rice crisis na naman. Hopefully hindi mangyari,” Montemayor said during a food security forum. (If it affects the whole ASEAN area, the rice supply may also be affected. The supply would fall short, and a rice crisis may emerge due to its soar- ing prices in the international market. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen.)

“If we are to rely [on] imports, iyong pumapasok na imported ngayon ay medyo mahal. (The imported rice coming into the country is quite expensive.) That also explains why palay price is going up. That’s another thing we have to watch out for—imports,” he added.

Montemayor underscored the need to surpass the harvests in the lean months from July to September when rice production is low. This is the planting period before local farmers get to harvest again.

FRICE, P10