The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) received an USD800,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which will be used for the development of rice with higher amounts of beta-carotene, vitamin E, iron, and even protein.

This is according to Dr. Rhodora R. Aldemita, a PhilRice researcher who is currently holding a postdoctoral position at the University of Freiburg in Germany. The grant was received through the Foundation's Grand Challenges in Global Health Program (GCGHP), which is being led by the University of Freiburg. Aldemita, together with PhilRice executive director Dr. Leocadio S. Sebastian and Plant Breeding and Biotechnology division head Dr. Antonio Alfonso acquired the grant by collaborating with a team of Germany-based scientists who work on improving the nutritional quality of rice. 

The US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports initiatives to address micronutrient deficiency especially in underdeveloped countries like the Philippines. PhilRice will be receiving the grant under the GCGHP.

Alfonso and his research team is expected to introduce some of the micronutrient traits to popular rice varieties through conventional breeding. Aldemita, on the other hand, will introduce other traits through genetic transformation.

Aldemita added that the grant, payable in five years, will also be used to upgrade PhilRice's biotech laboratories, establish a radioisotope laboratory and improve screenhouses used for testing genetically modified rice.

Aside from University of Freiburg and PhilRice, other beneficiaries of the grant are Michigan State University, Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Cuo Long Delta Rice Research Institute in Vietnam. (with reports from Rhodora Aldemita)