PhilRice: Over P20B worth of rice being wasted on Filipino tables

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has called on the public avoid rice wastage as part of the country's food security efforts.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) estimated that every Filipino throws away about two tablespoons of cooked rice daily, equivalent to 10.85 million sacks of rice worth P24.4 billion a year.

"That wasted rice could feed about 5.17 million Filipinos for an entire year, underscoring the potential food security gains from simply putting less rice in the trash," said DA in a statement.

PhilRice launched the BeRICEponsible campaign in 2014, urging Filipinos to avoid rice wastage, support local farmers, and choose healthier rice options.

The DA encouraged households to practice responsible rice consumption.

"Increasing production and reducing postharvest losses are critical to strengthening our rice supply, but these efforts will not be enough if we continue to waste what we already have on our plates," said Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Christopher Morales in a statement.

"Disciplined consumption is just as important. Every grain saved from waste effectively adds to the food available to our people without requiring additional land, water, inputs, or production costs," he added.

Aside from supporting locally produced rice, the DA is also encouraging the public to consider other healthier alternatives such as brown, pigmented, low-glycemic index, and high-zinc rice, along with rice mixes using corn, saba, camote, and adlai.

Further, the department is seeking to revive the Half-Cup Rice Ordinance in select areas. Under the policy, restaurants are encouraged to offer smaller servings of rice to avoid wastage.

The Agriculture department earlier said the Philippines is not keen on imposing a ban on imported rice as the country prepares for the food supply impact of the strong El Niño later this year.

Despite the country's rice imports surpassing 3 million metric tons, the agency said it will not let farm-gate prices of palay or unhusked rice for local farmers fall due to higher volume of rice imports. — VDV, GMA News