Manila, The Philippines
February 29, 2008
Source:
Manila Bulletin via
SEAMEO SEARCA
By Melody M. Aguiba
The government is set to conduct a multi-locational testing of
the genetically modified (GM) pro-Vitamin A-rich rice which
should benefit in about three years nutrition-poor, rice-eating
rural families.
Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian, Philippine Rice Research Institute
(PhilRice) director, said may start in September the first
multi-locational field testing of the Vitamin A-rich rice, also
known as "Golden Rice," at 's Muñoz, Nueva Ecija experimental
station.
Another site may be at the International Rice Research
Institute's (IRRI) testing fields in Los Banos, Laguna. Each
site will have a 500-square meter area.
At least two seasons of testing will be conducted to comply with
the requirements of the National Committee on Biosafety of the
Philippines' (NCBP) on the propagation of GM crops.
has transferred to local rice varieties the desired trait,
Vitamin A-enrichment through beta-carotene availability, in
order to make its nutrition advantages benefit more people.
Foreign rice varieties cannot be commercialized viably in the
local rice fields.
The trait has been transferred to NSIC 128 and PSB RC 82, two of
the most popular rice varieties in the Philippines that are
extensively consumed particularly by government's targeted
consumers.
Moreover, the varieties are inbred so that the trait is expected
to be passed on to next generation seeds even after repeated
planting unlike in expensive hybrid seeds which lose their
hybrid vigor or traits after one cropping.
While certain groups contest the value of government's
development of Golden Rice and question its benefits against the
huge investment in its development, believes there can be no
better alternative to developing a Vitamin A-enrichment in the
country's staple food—rice.
"This has something to do with people's preference. There are
other crops rich in Vitamin A like mungbean and malunggay. But
most of the poor eat only the staple. Forty percent of the
calorie intake of Filipinos comes from rice," said Sebastian in
an interview.
While field testing of the rice variety's suitability and other
agronomic considerations are on-going here, studies on
bioavailability of the Vitamin A enrichment are being carried
out in other countries. This will determine if Vitamin A from
its source, corn into rice, can be made available for use of the
human body.
And there are strong possibilities of efficient bioavailibity
due to the trait's origin.
"The gene (carrying the Vitamin A-rich trait) came from yellow
corn. There has been trials conducted on this showing high
potential for bioavailability," Sebastian said.
The development of Golden Rice has been prompted by the
infliction of Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) of millions of people
in developing countries particularly by children and pregnant
women. VAD can lead to total or partial blindness while its less
serious form can weaken the immune system.
This raises risks of infection of measles and malaria on immune
system-weak people. It was reported that this nutrient
deficiency causes blindness on 350,000 pre-school age children
yearly and the same deficiency is associated with one million
deaths annually. |
|
