Siquijor, The Philippines
June 27, 2011
The Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Unit 7 (DA-7) is promoting the consumption of white corn as healthy staple food.
DA-7 Regional Corn Program Coordinator Francisco Sopsop during the consultative meeting of local government units in Central Visayas said the region has a very good performance in corn production, especially the white corn variety.
Central Visayas ranked number 10 in the country’s corn production of all types, number 4 in the production of white corn, and ranked 16 in yellow corn production.
Sopsop said the DA planners are presently working on the promotion of white corn which has better health benefits than rice, the traditional staple food.
He said the government is bent on expanding the production of low-glycemic white corn seeds to reduce the incidence of diabetes and boost food security.
He said, the DA, together with the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB-IPB) has signed an agreement to implement the program.
White corn is the staple food of about 20 percent of Filipinos, especially in Visayas and Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Dr. Artemio M. Salazar, UPLB-IPB deputy director and National Corn RDE( Research, Development and Extension) Network head said that they are aiming to bring technologies to the boondocks where many of the people do not have much to eat.
Salazar said, unlike rice, white corn has low glycemic index (GI) which makes it slower to digest, thereby releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, and lessening the risk of diabetes.
White corn, he said, has also more protein, more lysine and tryptophan, more dietary fiber, more minerals and more antioxidants than rice.
Government is trying to educate urban consumers on health benefits and food preparations of white corn. It hopes that as white corn becomes part of the Filipino diet, the country may reduce dependence on rice and improve food sufficiency, Salazar also said.
Topics
Species
