SAN FERNANDO CITY, July 28 (PIA) – The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office I (DA-RFO I), distributed Golden Rice (GR) seeds to farmers in Urdaneta City and Manaoag, Pangasinan.
 
DA- RFO1 Executive Director Nestor Domenden said on Thursday that 10 kilograms (kgs) of GR seeds were given recently to three seed growers from the two areas in Pangasinan.
 
“We are helping PhilRice in the promotion of Golden Rice by identifying the high potential seed growers in the region,”  he said.
 
On July 5, the GR seeds  were distributed to three farmer cooperators at the Bureau of Plant Industry-National Seed Quality Control Services (BPI-NSQCS) office in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan with the presence of Ruel Gesmundo, the chief of BPI-NSQCS Central Office; Dr. Benito Andaya, head of the BPI-NSQCS Region 1; Florence Tolentino of PhilRice; and Analiza Ramos of DA-RFO I.
 
The first batch of GR seeds was released on June 24 in the towns of Mangatarem, Aguilar, and Balungao, all in Pangasinan.
 
The GR seeds were sowed on the same day of release.
 
A total of 10kg of GR seeds was allocated to six seed growers with .5 hectare land, totaling a 3-hectare on-farm production.
 
The Golden Rice Project aims to reduce the incidence of Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) among individuals, especially children in the locality.
 
“The Golden Rice is a nutritious food and a high-yielding type of rice,“ Domenden said.
 
Localities with a recorded high incidence of Vitamin A deficiency among their population are the suggested recipients of the Golden Rice. (JCR/AMB/FGL, PIA-1)