Assessment of Rice Stakeholders’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) Towards Golden Rice in Selected Provinces in the Philippines

Abstract

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains a significant public health concern in the Philippines despite the existing interventions. Biofortification of rice with beta carotene (provitamin A) serves as a complementary solution to address VAD. Since Golden Rice (GR) is a new product, the conduct of the Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception (KAP) study is vital to establish baseline data in crafting deployment plans to deliver GR in the communities who need it the most. Thus, our objectives include the determination of the KAP and receptivity of stakeholders towards GR and familiarization with its potential entry-points for GR. A total of 842 consumers and 434 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed. Purposive selection was used to identify 75 market player-respondents and insights from 100 potential partners, coming from the agriculture, health, and socio-civic sectors, were also gathered. A semi-structured questionnaire and guide questions were used in conducting the interviews in seven selected sites. Interviews had two parts: pre-GR introduction and post-GR introduction. Generally, there was a low awareness of GR, with only 4, 2, 9, and 34% of consumers, farmers, market players, and potential partners, respectively, were aware of it before its introduction. Nonetheless, after GR introduction, stakeholders perceived it to have improved nutritional quality. Consequently, high GR receptivity was obtained with 96% of consumers and 90% of potential partners willing to consume GR. Meanwhile, 93% of farmers were keen on planting GR and 84% of the market players were willful in involving GR in their business. To smoothly deploy GR, particularly in areas with high malnutrition, there is a need for extensive promotion. Focusing the orientations and training to the barangay health workers (BHW) and agricultural technicians (AT) will be critical as they are the primary source of information for health and agriculture. Moreover, conducting technology demonstrations will be strategic to showcase GR.