DA, NFA launch rice, corn blend

THE Department of Agriculture (DA), together with the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. (PhilMaize), target a healthier and more practical staple food as they launched Bigas-Mais Blend at Sasa Wharf last week.

“The rice and white corn combo is a healthier choice for the rice-eating Filipinos as corn contains higher amylose content which makes it harder to gelatinize and slower to digest…Bigas-Mais is just one of our strategy to quash our dependence on imported rice every time a shortfall in supply surfaces,” said Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

The Bigas-Mais, which is targeted to be available in leading supermarkets in the country by January 2018, comes in three variants the Regular, with 70 percent rice and 30 percent white corn; the Special with equal por- tions of rice and white corn; and the Premium with 30 percent rice and 70 percent white corn.

In a press release published at the official website of Department of Agriculture, it was stated that the new blend is expected to create new market segment demand especially for that of the health conscious. Aside from that, pressures on rice imports is hoped to tone down because of this Bigas-Mais as it aims to local farmers revive the country’s corn industry.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between DA, NFA, and PhilMaize during the launching at Sasa Wharf last week, December 21. In this project, DA is tasked to “ensure the availability of quality corn seeds and provide the required interventions for production areas such as capacity building, farm mechanization equipment, and postharvest facilities.”

On the other hand, NFA will be the one to distribute and promote the Bigas-Mais blend to retail outlets, government and non-government institutions, and other institutional buyers. They are also tasked to monitor compliance in terms of existing quality standards.

Supply of quality ricecorn blend will be done by PhilMaize. This role includes necessary processing related to the product such as milling, packaging and storage, sourcing from local producers.

“Corn is not a new staple food but it has been overlooked by the government for so long… If we are able to infuse at least 300,000 to 500,000 tons of corn next year, it will be the second time in our history that we are able to reach sufficiency in staple grains,” Piñol said. JPA