Former agriculture secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol is pushing an unconventional idea that could reshape the Philippines’ food security debate: producing rice-like grains from breadfruit, sweet potato, and corn flour using industrial food-processing technology more commonly associated with North African couscous.
The proposal emerged after Piñol, a Mindanao-based farmer advocate, met Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III a few weeks ago and was shown samples of granules resembling rice grains but made from bamboo leaves, sweet potato, and corn.
For Piñol, who has long advocated agricultural diversification and rural food production, the encounter pointed to what he described as the possibility of creating a nutrient-enriched “super rice” that could supplement the country’s heavily strained rice supply.
“Indeed, with this technology, our food nutrition experts could now formulate a mixture of flour from different agricultural products which could be processed into Rice-like granules to produce ‘super rice,’” Piñol wrote in a social media post.
At the center of the idea is a food-processing system known as agglomeration technology, widely used in couscous production. The industrial process transforms flour into small granules that resemble grains of rice.
According to technical descriptions cited by Piñol, “Couscous production lines using agglomeration machines are industrial machines specifically designed to turn wheat flour (specifically semolina) into grains. The process is called agglomeration.”
The process works by moistening flour with water before feeding it into a rotating drum or high-speed mixer. “The tumbling action causes the fine particles to bind together (agglomerate) into small, consistent grains (1 to 2 mm). The machine then steams, dries, cools, and sifts the formed granules to produce final products like couscous,” the description added.
While couscous is traditionally made from wheat semolina, Piñol believes the same technology could be adapted to Philippine crops such as camote (sweet potato), breadfruit, and corn—commodities often grown in abundance in rural areas but underutilized in mainstream food manufacturing.
The proposal comes as the Philippines continues to grapple with chronic rice supply pressures driven by climate disruptions, rising import dependence, and shrinking agricultural land. Rice remains the country’s most politically sensitive staple, with governments frequently balancing domestic production goals against the need to stabilize prices through imports.
Food security advocates have increasingly argued that diversifying staple foods could ease pressure on rice demand while opening new markets for local farmers. Crops such as breadfruit and sweet potato are already promoted by nutrition experts for their resilience and high nutrient content compared with heavily milled white rice.
Piñol’s post also referenced another rice alternative shown to him by Estrella: shirataki rice, a low-calorie substitute made from konjac root that has gained popularity among health-conscious consumers and people managing diabetes.
He described shirataki rice as “an ultra-low-calorie, high-fiber, and keto-friendly rice substitute made from the konjac root, commonly known as ‘miracle rice’.”
“It is virtually carb-free and sugar-free, making it ideal for managing blood sugar and weight loss. It is typically flavorless, absorbing sauces well, and has a bouncy texture,” he added.
But unlike imported specialty products aimed at niche consumers, Piñol envisions a domestically produced alternative designed around food security and mass consumption.
The concept also aligns with broader efforts by Philippine agricultural officials to add value to local crops through food processing rather than relying solely on raw commodity sales. Breadfruit, for example, has been identified by some researchers as a climate-resilient crop with strong potential as a flour substitute, while sweet potato is already used in various fortified food products.
Estrella, whom Piñol described as “a food security advocate,” said he hopes the government could eventually acquire agglomeration machinery capable of producing the proposed “super rice.”
Whether Filipino consumers would embrace rice alternatives on a large scale remains uncertain in a country where rice is deeply embedded in culture and daily life. Still, advocates say rising food costs and recurring supply shocks may eventually force a rethink of what constitutes the national staple.
For Piñol, the significance of the technology lies not only in innovation, but in the possibility that crops long viewed as secondary staples could become part of the country’s answer to food insecurity.
Stay updated—follow Philippines Today on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe on YouTube for more stories.