Some 20 students from Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-Bacnotan Campus and 20 La Union farmers joined DA-RFO1 staff on Monday for the conduct of the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) Briefing cum Training on Be RICEponsible.

This is in line with the observation of the National Rice Awareness Month (NRAM) 2023.

Providing a better understanding of the advocacy of NRAM, Ms. Vida V. Cacal, Chief of the Regional Agriculture & Fisheries Information Section presented the overview of the NRAM Campaign which carries the theme “Be RICEponsible and promotion of the “ABKD” movement.

Mr. Alex Rigor, Technical Consultant and DA-National Rice Program Luzon Coordinator for MRIDP discussed the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP). MRIDP is one of DA’s strategies to achieve 90% rice self-sufficiency and 97.5% by 2028.

Meanwhile, Ms. Vida Grace Taguda of Batac PhilRice shared about the Malusog Rice also known as the Golden Rice which was created to address the prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency in the country affecting the urban population by 13.6% and 16.9% in rural areas.

Also part of the activity is the launching of the Rice Menu Booklet produced by DA-RFO I through the RAFIS which contains various healthy menus with focus on rice as the main ingredient.

DA-RFO I Regional Executive Director Annie Q. Bares enjoined the participants to do their share in helping the government on its efforts towards its rice self-sufficiency goal by reducing wastage on rice, supporting local farmers by patronizing their produce, and for the public to be healthy and responsible rice consumers.###