The production of Golden Rice seeds starts this year, according to the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) which will oversee the roll out.
The National Nutrition Council (NNC) is expected to include Golden Rice in the Country’s Plan of Action for Nutrition which includes the natural fortification of food.
NNC said Golden Rice is designed to decrease and prevent Vitamin A deficiency. It is estimated that two in 10 of Filipino children aged 6 months to 5 years suffer from Vitamin A deficiency, according to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology.
The beta-carotene content of Golden Rice aims to provide 30 to 50 percent of the estimated average requirement of vitamin A for pregnant women and young children.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), PhilRice, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and the Indonesian Center for Rice Research have been involved in developing Golden Rice versions of existing rice varieties that are popular with local farmers.
The same yield, pest resistance, grain qualities, agronomic performance and seed cost are reflected in Golden Rice just like other rice varieties. Labor, fertilizer application, crop and pest protection remain the same.
IRRI said Golden Rice research and development adhere to scientific principles developed over the last 20 years by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
These are the same principles that inform the safety assessments of national regulatory agencies in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US which have assessed Golden Rice as safe to plant and safe to eat.
IRRI cited studies showing that vitamin A supplementation could reduce all mortality in children younger than 5 years by 24 percent to 30 percent. Vitamin A availability could prevent up to 2.5 million of the nearly 8 million late-infancy and preschool-age child deaths annually in developing countries with the highest risk.
Filipinos consume 290 grams (g)of of rice every day while Bangladeshis average 367 g per person per day.
Golden Rice’s composition is equivalent to conventional rice in terms of fiber, polysaccharides, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals and vitamins. Except for beta-carotene and related carotenoids, Golden Rice have the same components found in conventional rice varieties with a history of safe consumption.
Donated by its inventors, professor Ingo Potrykus and Dr. Peter Beyer, for use in developing countries and in public-owned rice varieties, there are no limitations, except export sale, on the use of Golden Rice harvest which can be locally sold or replanted by growers.
This ensures that Golden Rice will cost no more than the white rice variety in the Philippines and elsewhere. In short, consumers will not pay more for the extra nutrition.
