More than 100 tons of beta carotene-enriched Malusog Rice have been harvested this wet season in 17 pioneer production sites across the country, including Catanduanes.
This was announced by the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recently and confirmed by local sources.
In Viga town, a seed grower produced 84 bags of 20-kg bags of Golden rice seeds from a 6,000 square meter rice land while the other farmer-cooperator managed only 386 kilograms as his half-hectare farm was affected by typhoon Paeng.
In the other pilot area in Virac, the Golden Rice seeds were planted just last month and this January 2023 in a two-hectare farm, with harvesting to be done 108 to 110 days later.
The first harvest will be milled for distribution in target households with pre-school children identified at-risk for vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and undernutrition, as well as pregnant and lactating mothers, it said.
VAD could lead to poor eyesight and weak immune systems that make children prone to viral infections and other diseases, delayed growth and development, the agency added.
Farmer-cooperators showed their support and delight as among the first to produce Malusog Rice in their respective provinces.
“As I have observed, Golden Rice (GR) has good quality of seeds, and I want to taste it already. It also has good characteristics in terms of its elongated stem. I was encouraged to be a cooperator of GR to help the government minimize cases of malnutrition,” said Leo Franco Ebardo, seed grower in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur.
It may be recalled that in June 2022, the Golden Rice program was launched in Catanduanes, with nearly 200,000 islanders, including 29,919 children aged 0-59 months old and 11,963 pregnant and lactating mothers to benefit once production began.
DA-PhilRice distributed an initial 120kg of the golden rice seeds to selected farmer cooperators and seed growers in Virac and Viga to be planted on one-hectare of rice fields in each municipality.
Catanduanes is the only province in Bicol included in the seven pilot provinces to become priority areas of the Golden Rice Program, the others being Quirino, Antique, Western Samar, Agusan del Norte, Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao.
The island has one of the highest incidences of malnutrition in the country according to the Expanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute.
Data showed that out of the 23,575 children measured and weighed, the island-province had 4,538 children either stunted or severely stunted due to Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD).
Compared to the average height of 110 centimeters (cm) for boys and 109.4 cm for females, moderately-stunted children are usually about 9 cm to over 14 cm shorter, presenting a significant public health issue in the province.
Results of the 2020 Operation Timbang (OPT) Plus conducted among children aged 0 to 59 months in all areas of the country showed that Catanduanes ranked third nationally as to prevalence of stunting with 19.25%, just behind Camarines Sur’s 21.31%.
In a press conference during the launching, it was disclosed that one hectare of irrigated land planted with Golden Rice will have a yield of about 3.5 tons of palay, with DA-PhilRice expecting at least 7 tons of palay to be milled and made available to surrounding communities.
PhilRice said that, when consumed as part of the daily diet, Golden Rice can give young children 30-50 percent of their estimated average requirement of Vitamin A.
The addition of beta-carotene in its grains–which is converted by the human body as needed–is intended to address Vitamin A deficiency that can lead to a weak immune system, impaired cognitive development, and poor eyesight.
Golden Rice is derived from PSB Rc82 as its parent material and is classified as NSIC Rc682 GR2E rice variety or commonly called Malusog.
Malusog Rice (Golden Rice) is branded after its first variety registered in the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) as Malusog 1 or NSIC 2022 Rc 682GR2E.
DA-PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in collaboration with partner agencies, are currently multiplying the seeds for commercial production. The current supply will be used for promotion and initial distribution in provinces with high incidence of malnutrition, especially vitamin A deficiency.
Malusog Rice is expected to be fully commercialized at the latter part of 2024 once more seed supply becomes available.