As an effort to enhance the brown rice production of the country, the Metals Industry Research and Development Center of the Department 
of Science and Technology (DOST-MIRDC) launched a retrofitted compact rice mill that can produce brown rice using the typical compact rice mill found in the country. The launch, which was attended by the media and DOST-MIRDC’s R&D and industry partners, was held at the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija on August 20, 2015.
The project on developing the retrofitted compact rice mill is funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development of the DOST (DOST-PCAARRD) and is part of the Rice Mechanization Program that has been implemented since 2013.
Compact rice mill was selected to be retrofitted as 96.25% of rice mills in the country use this type of machine to produce white rice.
Brown rice varieties that were already tested included NSIC Rc 216, NSIC Rc 298, Dezu 300, and Black rice.
The developed machine can help increase the rice supply of the country by up to 10% or up to 400 kg per hectare due to the increased milling recovery or the lesser occurrence of grain breakage for brown rice. Using the NSIC Rc 216 variety, milling recovery for brown rice on the retrofitted compact rice mill is at 69% or six percent higher than the milling recovery for well-milled rice or white rice.
Moreover, brown rice, which is produced by removing only the hull or the rice kernel, retains most of the vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and essential fatty acids, making it a healthy alternative to the well-milled rice normally found in the market.
DOST-MIRDC’s research and development partners for the project were PHilMech and the Project Management and Engineering Design Services Office (PMEDSO) of DOST while Mariñas Technologies Inc. and Sumang Rice Thresher and Welding Shop were its industry partners.