CEBU, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) has urged consumers not to waste rice, saying that an individual is wasting an average of two tablespoons of rice every day.
Citing a study of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PRRI), Mary Agnes Militante, regional information officer of NFA in Central Visayas, said that this could cost around P27 million daily or P10 billion yearly in losses.
The two-tablespoon wastage could add up to 3.3 kilograms of rice being wasted by a person a year, Militante noted.
"With the 100 million population of the country, the rice wastage could reach up to 330,000 metric tons every year," the official said in an interview.
She urged everybody to become food guardians as food security now becomes crucial for the Philippines.
The NFA has launched a nationwide information campaign in social media that urges everybody to pledge to become food guardians.
The agency is seeking to aim 1 million signatures nationwide through its social media account and offices for the commitment to become food guardians.
The latest count of its signature campaign stood at 59,176 across the country and 1,850 in Region 7 alone. (FREEMAN)