Experts on Saturday stressed a regulatory approval of golden rice as it is a sustainable source of Vitamin A.
Their comments were aired at a webinar, titled “Importance of golden rice as a choice to sustain Vitamin A sufficiency – looking at the poverty – undernutrition nexus”, said a press release.
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) organized the webinar, which was chaired by Anwar Faruque, former secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the experts, golden rice has the capacity to help the government address vitamin A deficiency alongside their current interventions.
IRRI’s Dr Noel Magor’s keynote presentation revealed Bangladesh’s commendable track record in tackling Vitamin A deficiency in the past decades, with levels of vitamin A deficiency declining to relatively low levels among the poorest and most vulnerable.
“However, many still have low to moderate vitamin A status and golden rice can be a sustainable source of Vitamin A which can complement at very low cost the government’s other interventions to achieve full Vitamin A sufficiency,” he said.
Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, executive director of icddr,b, said: “Given the increase in the population of our country and the pressure on food security, it is time to have multiple interventions and strategies to combat micronutrient deficiencies.”
He added that one such intervention is the vitamin A fortified Golden Rice as this could result in an early release of the variety so that farmers and consumers can test it.
