The government of Japan in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) supports the Philippine's Plan of Action for Nutrition through its funding of production and blending machinery for iron-fortified rice (IFR) distribution in Norala, South Cotabato.

According to a case study of WFP, about 45 percent of children under five years old in the Bangsamoro Autonomous region experience iron deficiency anemia. Fortification, a process that involves the addition of micronutrients, of rice with iron was then seen a way to address this issue of malnutrition.