Food Woes

Imagine going to your local “palengke” and discovering products such as sugar and salt are nowhere to be found and produce such as onions, garlic, and meat have increased prices way beyond your budget. Sadly, this is the current reality for most Filipinos for many are finding it difficult to make ends meet as prices for basic commodities keep rising. The Philippines is an agricultural country with a land area of 30 million hectares, 47% of which is agricultural land. All in all, we have rich land, natural resources, hardworking farmers, and agriresearch institutions. We are blessed with so many resources yet how come we are facing food shortages left and right?

In 2022, the country’s overall agricultural output shrank by an annual 0.3% by value in the first quarter, due to a decline in fisheries, livestock, and crop production. According to the Philippine tons of beef, 600,000 tons of pork, and 404,000 tons of chicken. Importation may have served as a temporary fix but it is unsustainable.

As proof of the severity of the impending food crisis newly-elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a surprise announcement and named himself agriculture secretary. Though he clarified that he would only take on the role temporarily, the announcement emphasized the gravity of a continuing food crisis in the Philippines that Marcos called “severe”. However, rather than searching for permanent solutions, he bombarded farm sectors with subsidies—mere bandaid solutions that do not directly tackle the problem at its root. The reality is that our government does not prioritize agriculture— the backbone of our economy.

House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo

results but for the sake of economic prosperity and the simple health and well-being of the Filipino people, the president should strive to achieve ample food production and food security that is assured no matter what calamities or catastrophes that might befall us.

The future is dire for the country, particularly the poor if food inflation remains high and food insecurity prevails. To close the trade gap, the Philippine government should lead the export of more goods and services. These initiatives could provide new trade agreements in addition to capacity building so that Filipino businesses can manufacture better goods and services. The Philippine government must support and coordinate how agricultural sectors will be prioritized. In this way, it could allocate and create policies for domestic industry, a healthy

Statistics Authority (PSA), the country's rice stock inventory reached 2,220.21 thousand metric tons as of June 2022. The retail price of red onion in Iloilo city has spiked to Php 380 from Php 180 a year ago, yet the Department of Agriculture (DA) refuses to admit that there is a supply shortfall. Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. halted its operations at four plants due to sugar shortage. The beverage industry needs at least 450,000 tons of premium refined bottler-grade sugar to operate at full capacity for the rest of the year, and imports would prevent companies from laying off workers.

In addition, the Philippines faced backto-back catastrophic events: COVID-19 pandemic, African Swine Fever (ASF), and Avian flu (bird flu). Global farm prices also surged to a record this year on the back of lower world supply caused by drought, heat, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, export bans and rising prices for energy, oil, fertilizer, wheat, and wheat-derived products continue to put many countries in danger, particularly the Philippines, which depends on these major producing nations to make up for the difference in domestic production.To feed the nation, the Philippines will have to import 2.8 million tons of rice, 750,000 tons of corn, 250,000 tons of sugar, 110,000

Representative Janette Garin recommended promoting “kamote” or sweet potato as an alternative to rice by proposing incentives for food establishments serving "kamote" in some dishes. Meanwhile, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos suggested that rice farmers shift to dragon fruit production to increase their income and cater to Taiwan’s demand for the said fruit. Although these ideas have some merit, they cannot solve the country’s impending food crisis. It is not entirely feasible for Filipinos to switch food staples in such a short period— abandoning our own culture and century's worth of tradition. As Filipinos, unli-rice simply cannot be replaced with unli-kamote or unli-dragonfruit!

Aside from importation and total diet change suggestions, DA is currently eyeing to secure soft loans to bump up the food security programs from Japan and Indonesia. As a country that is under P13.52 trillion in debt as of September, taking additional loans doesn’t sound like the most financially smart decision. Our country is also a huge exporter of mangoes, bananas, pineapple, tuna, cocoa, and coconut. The irony is that despite being such significant exporters, our own country is facing an impending food crisis. Marcos’s takeover of the Agricultural sector is yet to reveal any environment, human rights, financing growth, and economic stability. On top of that, the DA should work closely with local governments to support farmers with the right tools and tech to bolster food production instead of looking to importation as a solution to our problems.

Farm tourism is also a great addition to the agri-sector. This can bring value addition to farmers and at the same time generate more jobs. Additionally, there should be less emphasis on exporting and more on local food supply.

Subsidies and importations will not resolve food insecurity issues plaguing our country. This is not a one-stop fix; instead, it should be treated with an eye toward long-term sustainability rather than temporary solutions. We must give food production and the agricultural sector the attention it deserves because it’s not just families impacted by the food shortage – businesses and, by extension, jobs are too. Since we are blessed with such natural resources, we should use them wisely in ways that will benefit us. If we make the necessary investments now, we can restore the nation's once-vibrant agricultural sector to its former glory, feed the hungry mouths of Filipinos, and avoid a full-out food crisis. C