ANGELES CITY – The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Munoz, Nueva Ecija has revealed every Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons of cooked rice daily.
“If rice is not wasted,” said PhilRice, “import savings can reach up to P10 billion and 4.3 million hungry Filipinos could be saved in a year.”
In a statement, Philrice, one of the country’s leading rice research arm, said it is “encouraging the public to eat the right amount of rice and to try other sources of good carbohydrates” in all their meals.
This, it said, would lead to rice self-sufficiency which it defined as the ability to locally produce and meet the total rice requirement of Filipinos.
Philrice urged Filipinos to rely not only on rice as staple, but also on other products such as banana, corn, sweet potato, potato and cassava which, it noted, “offer comparable caloric values or provide similar content at lesser quantity.”
It noted that by adopting these alternatives and reducing food wastage, consumers would also be healthier while at the same time help achieve rice self sufficiently in the country.
Philrice also noted a study of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics indicating that In 2010, each Filipino consumed an average of 113 kilos of rice.
This November, which has been dubbed as National Rice Awareness Month, Philrice will conduct a nationwide campaign to prevent rice wastage.
Some of the activities this November include ceremonial harvesting of palay at the Rizal Park in Manila to be led by PhilRice Los Banos and the launching of the Rice Manga, a story book for teenagers on rice conservation.
