[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Wasting rice’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
EDITORIAL
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
February 18, 2018
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
THE Philippines, one of the world’s biggest importers of rice, could go a long way to achieving its elusive goal of self-sufficiency by freeing irrigation services in farmlands. The President last week signed a law for this, lessening the financial burden of farmers.
But there’s another way to achieve rice self-sufficiency – simply by wasting less our rice.
An average of five cups of steamed rice is cooked daily for every Filipino but nine grams (around three tablespoons) of this is wasted, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). These morsels add up to more than 300,000 tons a year.
Why buy that much rice for the table when a significant amount is thrown away, taking with it all the nutrients and energy that rice can give? Alarmed of this, state-run Philippine Rice Research Institute and Department of Agriculture called for a nationwide campaign to change Filipinos’ wasteful consumption patterns.
The Philippines, with a rapidly growing population now over 100 million people, uses rice as the staple food. It recent years it has become the world’s biggest importer of the grain. Imports peaked at 1.8 million tons in 2008 during a global shortage triggered by poor harvests and bad weather.
Some of the problems have been poor farming techniques and frequent typhoons that have devastated vital rice-growing areas. But corruption, in which officials benefit from importing rice, and a lack of decisive government action to feed the booming population, are generally regarded as other important factors.
Administrations after administrations tried to address the rice shortage by importing the grains. This may be good but only for the short term. The public must do its share of the burden to ensure this country’s food sufficiency. Each family can do so by changing its wasteful consumption patterns.
Middle-class families tend to waste more than low-income families, according to IRRI. Apparently, the more people have, the more they waste?
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
