Senators vow to be riceponsible at PhilRice exhibit in the Senate

The exhibit of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) at the second floor lobby of the Philippine Senate turned into an amusing event of sorts as some senators,  their staff and visitors browsed through the banner standees, had a feel of the different rice varieties, watched in amazement the bike-like rice mill for brown rice and partook of samples of rice milk (a collaboration between PhilRice and the Philippine Carabao Center).

Senator Loren Legarda, president pro tempore, opened the exhibit along with Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian.

Since the session was about to begin, the program was aborted but this did not stop Senators Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Allan Peter Cayetano, JV Ejercito, Raffy Tulfo, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar, Christopher “Bong” Go and Reps. Joey Salceda, Mark Cojuangco and AGRI Partylist Rep. Wilbert Lee and others from viewing the exhibit. These legislators also signed the pledge wall to “be riceponsible”– the theme for the month-long celebration of the National Rice Awareness Month of November.

Sen. Pia even rode the foot- pedaled brown rice mill with the ease of an athlete to the delight of Sen. Loren who vowed to help in allocating a budget for the mass production of the machine for distribution to small rice shareholders in the country, so they would not be at the mercy of wealthy rice millers.

The Be Riceponsible advocacy calls for: a)  doing away with rice wastage in restaurants and for consumers to only order what they need; b) to buy Philippine rice (over imported rice) 3) to incorporate with rice alternatives like adlay, mais, saba atbp and; 4) for consumers to eat brown rice.

The campaign also exhorts the legislators to sponsor bills that would support healthy food like brown rice, unpolished pigmented rice and rice mixed with other staples.

The campaign also enjoins the legislators to push for the half-cup rice option to avoid wastage.

PhilRice is also pushing for bills that would promote and speed up the sale of Filipino farmers’ produce and increase their yield and income (through rice research and development, clustering and consolidation and honest labelling). RDLC