Golden Rice was the latest among 85 genetically modified crops that were either approved or in the process of getting a government clearance “for direct use as food and feed or for processing” since 2017.After securing the FFP on Dec. 10, its developers, International Rice Research Institute and the DA-attached Philippine Rice Research Institute , said they were ready to proceed with “sensory evaluations” and finally, commercial propagation.
In a statement announcing the FFP on Wednesday, John de Leon, PhilRice executive director, looked forward to making Golden Rice a solution to vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines, which was at 20.4 percent in 2013. Staple cropField trials went on in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija province and in San Mateo town in Isabela province despite contentions by activist groups Greenpeace and Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad sa Agrikultura that there was really no need for the GM crop.