'Rice wastage can feed 4.3 million hungry Pinoys'

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – Each Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons of rice daily, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija said yesterday.

If rice is not wasted, import savings can reach P10 billion in a year and at least 4.3 million hungry Filipinos could be fed, according to PhilRice.

PhilRice, one of the country’s leading rice research agencies, encouraged the public “to eat the right amount of rice and to try other sources of good carbohydrates.”                  

PhilRice urged Filipinos not to rely only on rice as staple, but also eat other products such as banana, corn, sweet potato, potato and cassava, which “offer comparable caloric values at lesser quantity.”

A study conducted by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics showed that in 2010, each Filipino consumed an average of 113 kilos of rice.

PhilRice will observe National Rice Awareness Month this November to prevent rice wastage. 

Activities include the ceremonial harvesting of palay at the Rizal Park in Manila to be led by PhilRice Los Baños and the launching of the Rice Manga, a book on rice conservation.