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| Photo from Manny Piñol's Facebook Page |
President Rodrigo Duterte has endorsed the Blended Rice and
Corn in Davao City as a national staple food, thus, ending the image
of corn as ‘poor man’s staple’, says Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.
In his post, the Agriculture chief was made proud of how the
Filipinos accepted the Bigas-Mais combination.
Given that Filipinos are were made aware of this, shortfall
on the rice requirements of the country will soon end its dependence on importing
it from the neighboring countries.
Please check out the secretary’s full report posted through
his Facebook page below;
PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT TO ERASE IMAGE OF CORN AS POOR MAN'S STAPLE
President Rody Duterte's endorsement of the Blended Rice and
Corn as a national staple food on December 22 in Davao City will not only offer
an healthier option for the Filipino consumer but will finally erase the image
of Corn as a poor man's "rice."
More than that, the acceptance by Filipino consumers of the
Blended Rice and Corn or Bigas-Mais will finally end the country's dependence
on imported rice to fill up the shortfall on the rice requirements of the
Philippines.
The Presidential endorsement will actually be the proverbial
"hitting four birds with one stone" because it will accomplish the
following:
1. Provide a healthier option to Filipino consumers with Low
Glycemic and non-GMO corn, especially in the face of worsening health problems
caused by diabetes;
2. Make available a more affordable staple food because two
kilos of vacuum-packed Blended Rice and Corn is set to be sold in the market at
no more than P35 per kilo, compared to about P50 per kilo for white rice;
3. Create a new and huge market for Corn farmers in the country
who are facing stiff competition from imported corn and wheat;
4. End the country's rice supply shortfall with the infusion
in 2019 of about 500,000-metric tons of corn grits and 1-million metric tons in
2020, thus effectively achieving food staple sufficiency for only the second
time in the history of the country.
The Philippines rice supply shortfall was placed at about
500,000-metric tons, a figure that is expected to be greatly reduced this year
because of the record paddy rice harvest of 19.4-million metric tons.
Last Monday, Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who
handles Agribusiness and Marketing, met with officials of the PhilMaize
Foundation, the federation of corn farmers' groups, and the National Food
Authority (NFA) to finalize the Dec. 22 launching by President Duterte of the
Blended Rice and Corn or Bigas-Mais.
Representatives of the country's large supermarket chains
like Ayala Abreeza Malls, SM Supermarket, Rustan's, Robinson's, PureGold and
others are also expected to join the launching.
The "Bigas-Mais" blend will also be offered to the
public initially in the NFA outlets in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Baguio and
other big cities.
During the launching which is expected to be attended by
Senators Loren Legarda, Cynthia Villar, Miguel Zubiri, Manny Pacquiao, Speaker
Pantaleon Alvarez and business tycoons like Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Sabin
Aboitiz and Lance Gokongwei, the Blended Rice and Corn or
"Bigas-Mais" Mix will be served in an early dinner hosted by the
Department of Agriculture.
The photos and videos of the President, Senators and the
"rich and the famous" partaking of the "Bigas-Mais" are
expected to erase once and for all the image that corn is only for the poor and
the "cargador."
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