Tuesday, March 25, 2008 NFA to the public: conserve rice By Bong Garcia
NATIONAL Food Authority (NFA) Assistant Regional Director Rolando Maravilla disclosed that the NFA has embarked in a rice conservation advocacy in the region.
Maravilla said the advocacy is aimed to bring down the wastage if not eliminate from harvesting up to the time it is cooked for consumption.
The NFA study showed that 10 percent of the rice during harvest to the time it is transported to outlets go to waste, according to Maravilla.
He disclosed that the 10 percent wastage is already 55,375.9 metric tons citing the annual rice production of the region of 553,759 metric tons.
Analyzing the figures, Maravilla said the volume of rice that is wasted is more than enough to feed several people, especially the needy ones.
He urged the public to only cook the exact amount of rice at home so that there will be little or no waste at all.
Maravilla, meanwhile, disclosed that the NFA has enough stocks of rice for the region.
More than 200,000 sacks of imported rice have arrived in this city to be distributed throughout Zamboanga Peninsula since January, according to Maravilla. (Bong Garcia)
