LEGAZPI CITY, ALBAY (PIA) – An official of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) dismissed Wednesday concerns of activists that “golden rice” might pose risks to public health, saying the genetically-modified grain is a solution to combat malnutrition.

Speaking at a forum, PhilRice Bicol Manager Victoria Lapitan said the genetically engineered rice has beta carotene content, which when ingested is converted into vitamin A.  

According to Lapitan, a cup of golden rice could provide up to half of the body’s vitamin A requirement and could reduce the prevalence of Vitamin-A Deficiency (VAD) among young children.

“When consumed as part of the daily diet, the golden rice can provide 30 to 50 percent of the estimated average requirement of Vitamin A of young children,” she said.

According to the 2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), 15.5 percent of young children—six months to five years old--in the country are Vitamin-A deficient.

VAD can decrease the body’s ability to fight infections like COVID-19, measles and pneumonia, thereby increasing the risk of death. It may also result in permanent or partial blindness if left untreated.

Dr. Lapitan said that in the latest FNRI data for the Bicol region, Sorsogon had a severe VAD with a prevalence rate of 41.3 percent.   Camarines Norte had moderate to severe VAD with prevalence rate of 24.8 percent, and Camarines Sur with 19.5 percent.

Catanduanes, on the other hand, was tagged as one of the provinces with a severe problem of malnutrition. About 59 percent of its children six months to five years old suffered from stunting while 39 percent from wasting.

The same FNRI survey showed these health conditions among children are caused by chronic insufficiency of key micronutrients such as Vitamin A.

In the same forum, nutrition adviser Ellen Villate admitted that a study that will prove the improvement of Vitamin A among children has yet to be conducted.

Nonetheless, the Bureau of Plant Industry, an agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), has already issued the permit for the commercial production of Golden Rice, making it the first genetically modified rice approved for commercial propagation in South and Southeast Asia.

On Thursday, the DA was to start the production of golden rice seeds in Catanduanes.

The province was one of the seven pilot provinces selected to be the priority areas of PhilRice’s Golden Rice Project. The six others were Quirino, Samar, Antique, Lanao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Maguindanao.

PhilRice is a corporate entity attached to the DA.  (PIA5)