At least P7 million worth of rice – enough to feed at least 2.5 million Filipinos for a year – is wasted annually, a Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) official said yesterday, in time for the kickoff celebration of the National Rice Awareness Month.
Karen Eloisa Barroga, DA-PhilRice deputy executive director, said at least two tablespoons of rice is wasted per person per day.
Barroga said Filipinos tend to place too much rice on their plates but are unable to finish the serving, or what is commonly called “takaw mata.” Children also tend to contribute to food wastage unless their parents eat the leftovers.
Hazel Antonio, DA-PhilRice Development Communication Division head, said the two tablespoons of rice are equivalent to more than 384,000 metric tons per year.
Antonio, however, said the numbers are based on 2018 data of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute and include rice that are fed to pets.
Antonio said there is a need to update the data to consider that rice fed to pets is “not waste.”
Barroga said PhilRice launched the “Be RICEponsible” campaign which encourages everyone to “get only what you need,” and advocates for the consumption of healthy rice and the avoidance of rice wastage.
Barroga said “Be RICEponsible” is embedded in the message “ABAKADA” which stands for: A, adlay, mais, saba at iba pa ay ating kainin; BA, brown rice ay atin ding subukan at kainin; KA, kanin ‘ay huwag sayangin; and DA, dapat bigas ng Pilipinas ang bilhin.
She said the “Be RICEponsible” and ABAKADA campaign has been expanded to include not just farmers but also consumers.
“Consumers have a role to play by avoiding wastage of our food, and doing that is also very helpful for our health,” Barroga said.
PhilRice is also pushing for the revival and passage of Senate Bill 1863, or the “Anti-Rice Wastage Act of 2013,” that was filed by then-senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2013. The bill seeks to promote the serving of half-cup rice and impose fines on establishments that refuse to serve half-cup rice orders.
She said mandating the default serving of half-a-cup of rice in restaurants would standardize the practice.
She said PhilRice is in talks with Senator Loren Legarda to sponsor the bill.
Antonio said there are 46 local ordinances that mandate the serving of half-a-cup rice in restaurants, which are mostly in urban cities like Manila, Quezon City, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Cebu and Iloilo.
As this developed, Barroga and Antonio said PhilRice is working on the launch of a specialized rice that would best represent and promote the Philippines which would be called “Lakambini.”
Antonio said Philippine Rice refers to different varieties that are planted, harvested and produced in the country, regardless if they used local or imported seeds.
The two officials also encouraged the public to buy local rice such as home-grown brown rice and support the consumption of grains that are alternative to milled rice, including adlai.
