PAGADIAN CITY, 28 Jan (PIA) – With the primary goal of
attaining rice-self-sufficiency this year, President Benigno S. Aquino III
issued Proclamation No. 494 declaring the year 2013 as the National Year of
Rice and mandated the Department of Agriculture (DA) to lead the celebration.
In a recent press conference held at Hotel Guillermo
this city, DA-9 Regional Information Officer Melba Wee said part of the strategies
to attain rice-self-sufficiency is the conduct of intensified information
campaign and social marketing to enjoin producers, consumers and policy makers
to help achieve the said goal.
Through these strategies, Wee said, by the end of 2013
fifty percent of the rice consuming public will commit to become responsible rice consumers by eating just
right amount of rice, not wasting rice, and eating other sources of
carbohydrates.
“As to rice producers, 50 percent of them shall adopt a
more efficient and new production technologies, and for policy makers to come
up with policy statements or ordinances in support of the NYR goal,” Wee added.
“Filipinos are eating too much rice. We are eating more
rice than other food groups, when rice and other grains should only be one
fourth of our meal plate,” Wee stressed.
”On the other hand, every Filipino wastes about two
tablespoons of cooked rice or nine grams of uncooked rice daily,” Wee
recounted.
DA report stated that in 2010, wasted rice was
equivalent to 13% of the total rice imports of the year, which was also
equivalent to P6.2 billion or the consumption of nearly 2.6 million Filipinos a
year.
With this, Wee encouraged the rice-consuming public to
eat just the right amount of rice, try to take alternative food staples (such
as banana, potato, cassava, corn and gabi), and eat brown rice for better
health and avoid food wastage. (FPG/CAL/PIA9)