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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is promoting the consumption of brown rice through the #BROWN4good challenge.
The #BROWN4good project is part of the Be RICEponsible campaign of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) started in 2014 yet.
Aside from the consumption of brown rice, DA and PhilRice also aim to increase the production of brown rice locally called pinawa.
They also aim to lower the price of brown rice in the market so that more Filipinos will eat and prefer it.
Brown rice is a kind of rice peeled only with rice bran (upa) so that the nutrients will remain.
According to the DA Region 6, preference to brown rice will help the country achieve rice sufficiency because its milling recovery is 10 percent higher compared to white rice.
“A kilo of palay has a milling recovery of 650 grams if milled into white rice. But if it is milled to brown rice, a kilo of palay has a higher milling recover of 750 grams,” according to DA in a statement.
Also, milling palay into brown rice saves a lot of energy because the milling time is short. On the other hand, the milling process for white rice is much longer and thus consumes a lot of electricity, it explained.
DA and PhilRice also promote brown rice as an alternative to white rice to address malnutrition across the country.
Brown rice has higher protein content, dietary fiber, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, minerals, and antioxidants compared to the plain or white rice.
Brown rice is also rich in Thiamin and other essential oils which can help prevent diseases like diabetes, heart failure and cancer.
BE PART OF THE CHALLENGE
DA Region 6 executive director Remelyn Recoter urged the public to join the #BROWN4good challenge.
All they have to do is buy brown rice, cook it and eat it, she said.
Then take a photo of you or your friends and family eating brown rice and post it on social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Put a caption on it and the hashtags #BROWN4good #Region6.
Make sure that the post is publicly accessible.
For every post, the DA will give one cup of rice to poor families in Western Visayas.
The #BROWN4good challenge started on Aug. 30 and will run until Oct. 31, 2016.
One can buy brown rice at a lower price at the Iloilo provincial government-run Iloilo Rice Processing Complex in Barangay Amamaros, Pototan, Iloilo.
A kilo of brown rice costs P36 to P37 or P1,800 to P1,850 per sack.
Interested buyers can also look for Dionisio Hubag, operations manager of IRPC, or contact DA’s Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section through landline (033) 335-3423 for more information. (With a report from Sheila Toreno, DA-6/PN)
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