Hi Bruce the red rice should not be confused with brown rice. While almost similar in appearance, brown rice is simply unmilled or partly milled rice. Any white rice can be brown rice, whether they are sticky, long-grain or short grain. On the other hand, red rice is more popularly known as mountain red wild rice because it primarily grows in the uplands and in organic conditions. Conditions that are abundant in Luzon, both in the Northern and Southern provinces. Kalinga Organic Unoy Rice Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative Chairman Illuminada Calbuyao quote that the farmers of the cooperative harvest Unoy twice a year, at two to three tons of produce per harvest. Aplan farmers harvest in December, and rice terraces farmers harvest in May.
There are over 60 varieties of Unoy rice, but as the influx of hybrid penetrated the region, only eight varieties have been retrieved from remote areas for farming. Locals from the area primarily plant these varieties for their family’s consumption and are hesitant to sell the grains as seeds, which would be able to propagate more of the variety.
