In the Philippines, rice is a primary agricultural crop and major caloric food source of Filipinos. Rice is produced in all of this archipelagic country's provinces, wherein total production (~18.4 million MT) is ranked eighth in the world. PhilRice was established as a dedicated research and development arm to propel sustained rice yield growth and stability toward selfsufficient production. Supporting its rice varietal improvement program is its Gene bank, a national repository of local-and foreign-sourced rice genetic materials. Currently, there are 14,388 rice accessions conserved at PhilRice Gene bank and 44% of which are landraces and traditional rice varieties. To date, 89% of the accessions have been Phenotypically characterized. To make these genetic materials desirable parent lines for rice breeding programs, a more comprehensive phenotypic characterization and evaluation of responses to various stresses remains to be done. A gene-bank's capacity to explore genetic potential of its holdings using molecular technology advances could pinpoint important traits in potential parent lines that are valuable in developing better rice varieties. The bottom line among the challenges of rice gene banking is striking a balance between fund resource availability and undertaking the numerous core research activities, including collection, conservation, documentation, characterization, evaluation, distribution and dissemination of rice genetic materials.

The Genetic Resources Division (GRD) of PhilRice collects and conserves rice genetic resources to ensure the future generations of available seeds needed to build better rice plants in facing climate change and growing population. At present, GRD maintains the national collection of rice genetic resources with 7,129 accessions. To effectively manage the germplasm collection, the search for, development of, and implementation of the best conservation strategies and innovation in technology have been the utmost priority of the GRD. Thus, georeference data such as latitude, longitude and elevation of germplasm origin during collecting mission were recorded using a handheld global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The e-Seedfile software was developed to provide virtual access of the reference collection for regenerated germplasm seed verification and valid type confirmation for new and old germplasm collection. Barcoding, on the other hand, facilitated accurate inventory of seed stocks, making the distribution and regeneration of germplasm more efficient. Moreover, paperless data collection using android application was implemented for immediate data validation and accurate data downloading from tablets to workstations, making it an ideal tool for germplasm characterization. Furthermore, the current database system was upgraded and adjusted to adopt the use of digital object identifier (DOI) through registration to the global information system (GLIS) on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA). The DOI allows the use of material to be tracked, thus meeting the legal obligations of the SMTA and monitor the impact of genebank collections in utilization in research and breeding programs. These innovative technologies are of great importance to expand the toolbox for the management and conservation of the germplasm collection that will help enhance the long-term conservation of rice diversity and easy access to germplasm and germplasm-related information.