The most productive rice variety of Bangladesh — BRRI Dhan 29 is genetically engineered by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. This new variety of golden rice is enriched with beta carotene gene from corn. In February, IRRI successfully field tested this golden rice.
According to World Health Organization (WHO), 20 percent of pre-school children in Bangladesh are vitamin A-deficient, and the rate in pregnant women is 23.7 percent
Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness and child death in acute cases
According to IRRI release Globally, approximately 6, 70,000 children die every year and another 3,50,000 go blind because of vitamin A deficiency.
And if everything goes well, Bangladesh will be able to fight vitamin A deficiency within 5 years in expecting mothers and children through the most-consumed food item.
When this golden rice will be released commercially, consumption of only 150 gram of Golden Rice a day will supply half of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A for an adult. The new breed is expected to revolutionize fighting vitamin A-deficiency as Asian countries usually eat rice