Pledging session for rice conservation held

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    SCIENCECITYOF MUNOZ – In this city of agricultural science, proper safekeeping, as well as cooking of rice, is a pledge.

    Agriculture stakeholders led by Executive Director Ronilo Beronio of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and Mayor Efren Alvarez vowed to practice and campaign ways on how to save rice “as a way of helping my country reach rice sufficiency.”

    The pledging, held on July 29, was part of the preparation for the 25th year anniversary of PhilRice, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the primary rice research agency of the country. This amid the controversy brought about by the rotting of rice in various warehouses of the National Food Authority (NFA).

    But Beronio said they made the pledge based on the result of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) survey.

    It showed that each Filipino wastes at least three tablespoon of rice everyday, approximately about P23 million worth of daily rice wastage.

    The two officials, along with other researchers, farmers and consumer groups also vowed to keep their pledge of saving rice in their “heart and mind at all times, knowing that with the rice I save, lives are saved.”

    Urging the audience to take simple steps in supporting the country’s bid to rice-self sufficiency by 2013, Beronio said import saving from rice can reach P10 billion should Filipinos be dutiful in conserving rice.

    ”Pledgers” also vowed to cook rice properly to avoid undercooked or burned rice; recycle leftover rice into other dishes, and will only cook rice that the “pledgers” and their family could consume.

    For the rice workers’ part, they vowed to discourage the drying of palay on public roads and highways as this will lower the quality of the grains. They also vowed to encourage farmers to sow right amount of seeds and to ensure safe storage and sanitation of grains to avoid infestation.

    Complementing the cause, PhilRice soft-launched its Save Rice, Save Lives Campaign through the unveiling of a billboard that says “Ang bawat butil ng palay, bawat butil ng bigas, bawat butil ng kanin ay mahalaga.”

    “Sila ay nagbibigay buhay at hindi dapat sayangin (Every rice grain counts. Rice is life. Conserve it).

    PhilRice, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Nov. 3-5, also showed its new corporate billboard highlighting the Institute’s battle cry “Rice Science for Development.”

    “Rice science for development transcends working for development with a human face,” Beronio said.

    He said that “it is high time that rice science must be fully utilized to meet the basic human needs and steer economic growth through increased productivity at less cost and with minimal damage to the environment.”

    Should the more profound potential of rice science be utilized, Beronio said he believes that rice farmers will be more patriotic and nationalistic to their motherland.


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