When are the first health benefits to be realised?
The transfer of the technology to local rice varieties and the necessary biosafety and efficacy testing is expected to take at least another two to four years. The health benefits should follow shortly after the rice seeds are available for widespread cultivation and consumption. The actual timing will also depend on the time required for regulatory clearance by the relevant authorities and seed delivery to farmers. It is hoped that by then farmers will have been informed of this development and will be prepared to adopt the “new old” seed new in colour yet still the same sort of rice they have come to know and to like over time. The positive effect on the health of their children should help spread the word.
