Malusog rice seeds, which the Philippine Rice Research Institute soft launched during the wet season crop of 2022, were distributed to seven provinces in seven regions of the country with identified high incidences of malnutrition and stunting among children, for planting in their farms, with the final product to be bought back by the local government units for use in their nutrition programs.
The seven provinces that have initially planted vitamin A-rich Malusog rice seeds are: Quirino (Region 2), Catanduanes (Region 5); Antique (Region 6), Samar (Region 8), Lanao del Norte (Region 10) and Agusan del Sur (Region 9) and Maguindanao.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Program Leo Sebastian asked PhilRice to eventually urge the LGUs to get into farm clustering of 100 hectares each so these rice-producing provinces can participate in the overall Masagana Rice Industry Development Program where all interventions will be given.
The provinces were selected on the basis of: 1) prevalence of malnutrition; 2) rice production data and 3) support from LGU.
PhilRice started planting Malusog rice during the wet season crop of 2022 in 38 hectares increasing it to 47 hectares during the dry season crop of 2023 and further raising the planted area to 200 hectares during this wet season.