Boosting food security is top priority

Food security is high on the agenda of the Marcos administration.

Over the weekend, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) raised the alarm on foreigners renting or buying large tracts of land in Nueva Ecija and other rice-producing provinces, as well as areas in Palawan facing the West Philippine Sea. The Constitution provides that the ownership of private lands is limited to Filipino citizens or corporations with at least 60 percent Filipino capital.

Last week, President Marcos emphasized the key role played by local government units (LGUs) that are in the frontlines of the administration’s concerted efforts to achieve its goal of Zero Hunger in 2027. Cash awards were given to outstanding barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces that achieved the best results. He called for sustenance of the whole-of-nation approach so that, through synchronized efforts, this vital goal may be achieved sooner.
According to DSWD data, nearly 12 percent of Filipino families or around three million households experienced hunger at least once during the last quarter of 2023. One of three Filipino children under five years is still suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition. Compared to other countries in East and Southeast Asia, the Philippines still trails in the Global Hunger Index with a score of 14.8, or moderately hungry, versus the regional score of 8.2. These data underline the urgency of the DSWD’s Zero Hunger program which involves the provision to beneficiary families of food stamps to buy food commodities from participating stores.

Assuring the affordability of rice which is the Filipinos’ staple food is imperative in attaining food security. President Marcos, who chairs the board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), issued Executive Order 62, lowering tariffs on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent, as part of the Comprehensive Target Program for 2024-2028.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has monitored that the price of imported well-milled rice ranges from ₱52 to ₱55 per kilogram while the regular-milled variety sells for as much as ₱51 per kilo; local commercial well-milled rice sells for ₱48 to ₱55 per kilo while the price of the regular-milled variant ranges from ₱45 to ₱52 per kilo. The DA’s target price is ₱29 per kilo, made available at Kadiwa outlets, to complement direct subsidies already being extended to the marginalized and vulnerable sectors, such as the food stamps and conditional cash transfers.

NEDA attributed the high international price of rice to the global impact of the El Niño phenomenon and rising demand. It is keen on keeping the price of rice down. Based on Philippine Statistics (PSA) estimates, “rice contributed to about two percentage points or over 50 percent to headline inflation in the last three months.”

Urgent actions need to be taken on other fronts, including, among others: farmer subsidies and improved credit access; investments in irrigation systems and storage facilities; intensive research and development of high-yield rice varieties; promotion of sustainable farming practices; strengthening cooperative systems; and enhancing market linkages and export opportunities.