Golden Rice to solve Vit. A deficiency, available soon

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    CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “Golden Rice” is eyed to expand the list of nutritional options for poor Filipinos, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) based in Nueva Ecija said.

    “It will help provide solutions for our Vitamin A deficiency problem. We are offering it as one of the alternatives to solve nutritional issues,” said PhilRice Executive Director Eufemio Rasco Jr.

    Golden rice, characterized by its golden yellow or orange color, is a genetically modified organism that produces beta carotene in its grains.

    It is close to being developed by the PhilRice in coordination with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in a bid to respond to Vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines and Bangladesh.

    This, even as plant breeding and biotechlogist Dr. Antonio Alfonso, one of the developers of Golden Rice, underscored the importance of the new rice variety as he noted that Vitamin A deficiency has been noted as having led to blindness among children and ill health among mothers.

    Rasco said: “We’re getting close to completion; we have laboratories and green houses. We have submitted our application for regulatory approval and we are just waiting for the results.”

    He said Golden Rice will be made available to consumers and farmers as soon as the “biosafety evaluations” have been completed and approved by the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture.

    At the same time, PhilRice has noted the national observance of Rice Awareness Month this November. Today, Nov. 18, Rasco and Agriculture Sec Proceso Alcala will join other PhilRice executives at the ceremonial harvest of palay in Rizal Park in Manila to “demonstrate the advantages of modern rice varieties.”

    Rasco said modern varieties have stronger stalks and roots and are high yielding.

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