Microsoft's Bill Gates in Manila - sources

MANILA – American business magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Laguna on Wednesday, sources said.

Gates is the co-chairperson of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife. They are the single biggest private donor to IRRI, giving an estimated $18 million annually.

IRRI's annual budget for its global operation is around $100 million.

Security was tight at the IRRI's global headquarters inside the UP Los Baños campus, and officials would not confirm whether Gates was their guest.

However, they said the Foundation's head for Agriculture Development, Pamela Anderson, was in IRRI.

IRRI describes itself as "the world's premier research organization dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science." It was established in 1960 and has offices in 17 countries.

Deputy Director General Bruce Tolentino said IRRI is focused on food security and developing high quality rice. Their research aims to produce "climate smart" varieties that can thrive under various conditions, including flood, drought, and salination.

"Half of the world eats rice, at tayong mga Pinoy mahilig din sa kanin. We should be proud that the global center of IRRI is in the Philippines," said Tolentino.

Gates is known to support various development projects and charities, focusing on food and health.

Gates visits Amanpulo

Meanwhile, airport sources said the 59-year-old billionaire arrived in Puerto Princesa, Palawan on April 4 onboard a US-registered chartered flight with registry number N887WM.

Gates and his group disembarked in Puerto Princesa and immediately boarded an islander aircraft of Inland Transvoyager Inc. (ITI), a fixed base operator that has exclusive access to Amanpulo, a high-end private resort in Palawan.

The US-registered aircraft then filed another flight plan with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for a flight from Puerto Princesa to Manila with flight crew only. Gates’ chartered flight is now parked at the Asian Aerospace hangar.

Gates and his group took the ITI islander plane from Amanpulo to Manila, and landed at the Soriano hangar near the domestic airport.

Immigration sources confirmed the billionaire’s arrival, but Gates’ group requested for full confidentiality due to security reasons.

The flight plan filed before CAAP indicates that the chartered flight is tentative to depart Manila on April 16.

Immigration officials at Palawan, where Gates’ point of entry to the Philippines is, said they were not given advance information until the plane landed in Puerto Princesa on April 4.

Immigration sources confirmed that Gates is still in Manila, but they refused to give further details due to security reasons.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Golden Rice' research continues despite militants' attack

MANILA - Research work on an experimental rice variety will continue despite an attack by militants who destroyed a test farm in Camarines Sur Thursday, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Saturday.

IRRI said on Twitter that although the test farm in Pili town was vandalized, it has completed several field trials of the "Golden Rice" and others are still ongoing.

The institute, an international independent research and training organization with headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, has developed various rice varieties and crop management techniques since 1960 to help farmers and consumers.

Militants belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and other leftist groups opposing genetically-modified (GM) crops raided the farm and uprooted Golden Rice plants on Thursday, agriculture officials said.

IRRI, in a statement, denounced the attack.

"We are all disappointed and saddened by the action as many people in the Department of Agriculture, the Philippine Rice Research Institute, IRRI and our other partners locally, nationally, and internationally have been working hard on the field trials to help us continue our research to improve nutrition," the institute said.




Dr. Bruce Tolentino, IRRI's deputy director general for communications and partnership, also posted a video statement to announce that scientists' work on the rice variety will continue.

"Earlier today one of our Golden Rice field trials located in the Bicol region of the Philippines was vandalized. We are really disappointed that our Golden Rice field trial was vandalized, but it is just one trial and we will continue our Golden Rice research to improve human nutrition," he said.

"Golden Rice field trials are part of our work to see if Golden Rice can be a safe and effective way to reduce vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines – to reduce malnutrition,” Tolentino said. "Vitamin A deficiency is horrible and unnecessary, and we want to do our part to help to reduce it."

The project is being undertaken through a partnership between the IRRI, the Department of Agriculture, and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

According to IRRI, vitamin A deficiency affects approximately 1.7 million children (or 15.2%) aged 6 months to 5 years in the Philippines.

It added that subclinical vitamin A deficiency affects one out of every 10 pregnant women in the country.



Rice with beta carotene

IRRI said the "Golden Rice" is a new type of rice that contains beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A when eaten.

"Research so far indicates that eating about one cup a day of Golden Rice could provide half of an adult's vitamin A needs," it added.

The new rice variety, whose grains are golden in color, was developed through genetic modification techniques using genes from maize and a common microorganism.

It was invented by Professor Ingo Potrykus of the Institute for Plant Sciences, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and Professor Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg in Germany.

IRRI is developing various varieties of the Golden Rice on a non-profit basis through royalry-free access from Swiss firm Syngenta AG.

The IRRI's research work and tests on the new rice variety are overseen by the Department of Science and Technology's National Committee on Biosafety.

The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry is also strictly monitoring field trials.

Militants, however, believe that Golden Rice is not the solution to nutritional deficiencies, especially among the poor.

Greenpeace Philippines, in a briefing paper on the project, claimed that the new rice variety diverts attention and resources away the real cause of vitamin A deficiency, which are mainly poverty and lack of access to a more diverse diet.

It said money spent on the project should instead be used to promote home gardening and Vitamin A pills.

It claimed that the rice is ecologically dangerous as it may "contaminate" traditional rice varieties, and other rice relatives.

Greenpeace also said Golden Rice may even worsen malnutrition because people may eat only the rice instead of other vitamin-rich food plants.

"Despite all the hype about Golden Rice, it still remains unproven whether daily consumption of [it] would actually improve the vitamin A status of people who are vitamin A deficient," the environmental organization said.

IRRI, however, has allayed Greenpeace's concerns.

The institute, which has helped develop 60% of current rice varieties being planted worldwide, said "Golden Rice" will only be released to farmers for cultivation after national regulators have determined that it is safe for the environment.

"Based on six years of study so far, the genetic trait that produces beta carotene in the rice grain does not appear to make Golden Rice plants stronger than other rice varieties. Therefore Golden Rice is unlikely to harm biodiversity by becoming a weed," the IRRI said.

"Golden Rice is also unlikely to impact biodiversity by endangering wild rice through cross-pollination (outcrossing, or gene flow) for reasons that apply to all cultivated rice," it added.

IRRI also cited peer-reviewed studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition stating that Golden Rice is an effective source of vitamin A for adults and children.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com