DA pushes affordability of brown rice

TACLOBAN CITY, Oct. 24 (PNA)-- The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office here is eyeing to increase the demand for brown rice in a bid to make the staple food affordable to consumers.

Brown rice, the unpolished rice, is still unpopular to the public, according to DA. The farm agency is still promoting brown rice through the BROWN4good project, a social media campaign promoting its four goodness to the country, to the body, to the farmers, and to the hungry.

"We should help in the campaign. Once the demand for brown rice is high, eventually its price will decrease," said DA regional information officer Francisco Rosaroso.

The price of brown rice still ranges from PHP60 to PHP80 per kilo or double the prevailing prices of regular white rice.

There are only two cooperatives in the region producing brown rice-- in Ormoc City and in Basey, Samar.

"We are encouraging farmers to produce more brown rice. We will be providing them facilities and machineries," he said.

He added that producing brown rice will help the farmers because the milling recovery will increase by 10 percent compared to white rice.

The farm department, along with PhilRice also encourage food establishments to serve brown rice.

"The Leyte provincial council also said that they will pass as soon as possible an ordinance mandating food establishments to serve brown rice," Rosaroso added. (PNA)
FPV/SQM/DARA PEARL P. DACUYAN, LNU INTERN/EGR