ILOILO City – Why prefer locally-produced rice over the imported ones?
“Local rice is of good quality, we are sure of that, so we know it’s safe to eat,” said James Earl Ogatis, information officer of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas.
He could not say the same thing for imported rice.
“We couldn’t be sure of rice grown abroad. We don’t know their farming practices, how they grow rice and what preservatives they put in the rice being shipped to us,” said Ogatis.
Thus the most sensible thing to do is patronize locally produced rice, he said at the side lines of the National Rice Awareness Month celebration’s kick-off on Nov. 4 at SM City Iloilo.
Patronizing locally-grown rice also helps local farmers who are facing stiff competition from the entry of imported rice, Ogatis added.
There are around 800,000 rice farmers in Western Visayas, he said.
The National Rice Awareness Month celebration aims to, among others, highlight the importance of rice farmers and inspire them to continue producing the staple.
One way inspiring local farmers is buying their produce, said Ogatis.
National Food Authority (NFA) Iloilo agreed. As of Oct. 31, it was able to procure from local farmers over 600,000 bags of palay (unhusked rice).
Pat Espinosa, information officer of NFA-Iloilo, said their target procurement this November is 150,000 bags of palay./PN
