Iloilo’s 80,000 tons of rice husk waste could become cash

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Iloilo provincial government is exploring ways to turn the estimated 80,000 metric tons of rice husks it generates each year into value-added products after discussing potential technologies and skills training with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. led a provincial delegation in a meeting with ADB and TESDA officials on June 10 at the TESDA Central Office in Taguig City as part of the province’s push to advance its waste management and circular economy programs.

The discussions focused on rice husk valorization, with officials presenting five potential utilization pathways: rice husk ash (RHA) pozzolan production, composting and vermiculture, briquetting, animal bedding, and particle board manufacturing.

Rice husks, which typically account for about a fifth of palay weight by industry estimates, are a major byproduct of rice milling that accumulates in rice-producing communities across the province.

The initiative supports Iloilo’s goal of becoming a zero-waste province by finding productive uses for the agricultural residue.

Defensor expressed confidence in the province’s capacity to support investments in rice husk processing ventures.

“We have the funds, and we have the raw materials,” he said.

The proposed collaboration also seeks to align technical skills training with emerging industries related to agricultural waste utilization.

Through TESDA and ADB’s Supporting Innovation in the Philippines Technical and Vocational Education and Training System (SIPTVETS) Project, local workers may gain access to training programs that could support future rice husk-based enterprises.

SIPTVETS is backed by a USD 100-million ADB loan to modernize the Philippine technical and vocational education and training system, including the establishment of 17 industry-responsive innovation centers across the country. TESDATESDA

For the TESDA Regional Training Center-Iloilo, priority sectors under the project include metals and engineering, particularly agricultural machinery and equipment, areas considered crucial to supporting agri-industrial innovation.

Joining Defensor in the discussions were Provincial Legal Officer Dennis Ventilacion, Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office Head Caesar Emmanuel Buyco, Acting Provincial Agriculturist Felina Grace Basco, Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office Head Aulynn Yue Sin, and Public Employment Service Office Head Cynthia Dario.