Channel NewsAsia 28 Mar 08;
MANILA : As the Philippines scrambles to boost its rice supply, the government has come up with a conservation programme that will discourage wastage of the country's staple.
Filipinos waste 50 kilogrammes of rice a day, according to official statistics.
That translates into wastage amounting to US$715,000 daily.
According to the National Food Authority, around 25,000 bags of rice are wasted everyday.
The study shows that customers at restaurants and fast food chains waste the most rice.
The Department of Agriculture has appealed to these establishments to offer smaller portions of rice, in view of the current national shortfall.
It is part of a new rice conservation programme launched by the government.
Rex Estoperez, Spokesperson, National Food Authority, said, "You are required to eat only half a cup of rice...we are encouraging the food chains or restaurants to give options to consumers because if they cannot consume a whole cup of rice, it will go to waste. We have been doing random sampling on restaurants and food chains, and the wastage is so much. It's something that we cannot recover."
One fast food chain that has started offering half servings of rice is Chowking, which sells Chinese cuisine.
Many of its patrons support the move.
One person said, "It's fine with me as I usually just eat half a cup of rice. Previously, I forced myself to finish all the rice even though I was full."
Another commented, "Sometimes we order a lot of food but we can't finish all of it. If everyone only eats half a cup of rice each, especially those who are on a diet, there'll be more savings for the National Budget."
A third said, "It's a good idea. We share one cup of rice as we can't finish the whole cup in one sitting."
The Department of Agriculture is in now in discussions with hotel chains and other food outlets to see how they can help conserve rice.
The message to Filipinos is that if they waste less rice, imports could go down from the current 83 percent of the amount consumed to as low as 37 percent.
The Philippines is currently the world's biggest rice importer, as the government buys close to 2 million metric tons from the international market every year. - CNA/ms
