October 16, 2025

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) honored DA-PhilRice at the Global Technical Recognition Ceremony for its pivotal role in advancing sustainable agrifood systems through the Philippine Rice Information System (PRiSM).

PRiSM was recognized in the Sustainable Plant Production and Protection category at the World Food Forum on October 15, 2025, held at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. This distinction highlights its technical leadership and commitment to transforming global food systems through science and innovation. The recognition was part of the FAO’s 80th-anniversary celebrations, which honored institutions that help farmers produce more with less.

As the first national-scale, satellite-based rice monitoring system in Southeast Asia, PRiSM utilizes cloud-penetrating Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data to provide near-real-time information on planting areas, yields, and production statistics. It also serves as a critical disaster-response tool, generating rapid damage assessment maps during typhoons, floods, and droughts.

This global recognition underscores how PRiSM has revolutionized the country’s agricultural landscape by shifting from traditional survey-based estimates to objective, evidence-based data.
The system empowers both policymakers and farmers to make informed decisions by integrating satellite imagery with ground-validated reports. This data-driven approach is essential for enhancing the resilience of the Philippine rice sector and ensuring stable national food security amid escalating threats from climate change.

This FAO accolade follows a series of international successes for the PRiSM team, including a recent Special Award for Sustainability from the IDC Future Enterprise Awards. These honors collectively validate the Philippine government’s strategy of leveraging “space science for social service,” establishing a model that other rice-producing nations can replicate in the fight against global hunger and climate vulnerability.