AFTER more than two decades of extensive research and development, the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) is finally prepared to deploy Golden Rice seeds for massive production in the hope of reducing incidence of Vitamin A deficiency among the populace through consumption of the beta-carotene enriched Golden Rice.

The Golden Rice Project, initiated in 1990 purposely to increase the nutritional value of rice through genetic engineering, was developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in partnership with the DA-PhilRice.

In a stakeholders’ meeting for the deployment of Golden Rice in Lingayen on May 16, DA-PhilRice announced that it has allocated 120kg of golden rice seed for a three hectare on-farm production by six seed growers in Pangasinan particularly in the municipalities of Aguilar, Mangatarem, Balungao and the City of Urdaneta.

Production of Golden Rice for consumption by Vitamin A deficient individuals is eyed as among the complementary solutions to eradicate malnutrition among children, backed by programs on Supplementation (breastfeeding), Diversified Diet (community and school gardens), Food Fortification (iron-fortified rice, Sangkap Pinoy) and Biofortification which is the golden rice. (PIA Pangasinan/AMMB)

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