The Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science Technology (FNRIDOST) conducted a series of successful advocacy meetings on DOST PINOY intervention strategy and stabilized brown rice among stakeholders in Bayawan and Dumaguete City on January 29 and 30, 2015.
The advocacy meetings were organized by the Technology Trasnfer and Commercialization Section (TTCS) headed by Engr. Rosemarie G. Garcia of the Technology Diffusion and S&T Services Division (TDSTSD) of the FNRI. This is in coordination with the DOST-Negros Oriental office.
The DOST PINOY intervention strategy is one of the two components of the Malnutrition Reduction Program (MRP). The acronym PINOY stands for the Package for the improvement of Nutrition of Young Children. This intervention strategy is a combination of 120 days feeding of complementary food blend developed by the FNRI among 6 to 36 months old malnourished children and conduct of nutrition education during mothers/caregivers of the malnourished children using the DOST PINOY modules.
The DOST PINOY advocacy was in preparation for the two-day training that will be held for the program implementers in Bayawan City as recipients of the project Malnutrition Reduction Program (MRP).
Bayawan City was chosen as one of the recipients of the said project since the Local Government Unit (LGU) of the city granted a food processing facility inaugurated in December, 2014. This is part of the initiatives made under the project funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), DOST funded project entitled "Empowering Stakeholders for the Accellerated Hunger Mitigation Program", also known as Siglang Pinoy Project.
Stabilized brown rice, on the other hand, is the technology developed by FNRI-DOST to extend the shelf life of brown rice. Consumption of brown rice has many health benefits because of its high fiber content which may help prevent risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some forms of cancer.
The bran contains micronutrients such that consumption of brown rice may provide a solution to the micronutrient deficiency in the country. Consumption of brown rice may also have signifi cant contribution to attaining rice self-suffi ciency because with the bran layer intact, production of brown rice has higher yield than well-polished rice. The advocacy meetings aimed to promote the adoption of the DOST PINOY intervention strategy among the LGUs and at the same time the stabilized brown rice technology among rice millers for the improvement of nutritional and health status of Bayawan residents.
The advocacy meeting in Bayawan City was held in the Technology Livelihood Development Center. The other forum was held at the DOST Provincial Office in Dumaguete City with a total of 47 participants from the LGUs composed of representatives from the Mayor's Office, academe, nutrition health, social service, agriculture and rice millers.
In another related event, the complementary food technology in the food processing plant in Bayawan City was conducted by FNRI technology generators among food processing workers. Rice-mongo complementary food blend being produced is now available for sale to other LGUs having their own complementary feeding program.
DOST PINOY training in Bayawan City is tentatively scheduled in March 2015. There are other LGUs interested to adopt the strategy and to purchase the complementary food blend to be produced in Bayawan City food processing plant. In the case of the brown rice technology, there were two millers each from the two areas who signifi ed interest to adopt the technology on stabilized brown rice.
