How rice self-sufficiency can contribute to hunger reduction among Filipinos
Rice is the staple food of Filipinos. While the Philippines is a rice producing country, demand for this agricultural product is more than the supply such that the country has to resort to importation. In fact, the nation is one of the largest importers of rice in the world, leaving it particularly vulnerable to high and volatile rice prices. Increase in the price of rice due to lack of supply therefore affects many marginalized Filipinos who subsist mainly on rice to address their hunger pangs.
For the country to attain rice self-sufficiency, President Aquino declared 2013 as the National Year of Rice (NYR) through Proclamation No. 494. The Department of Agriculture (DA) leads the campaign together with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). DA and PhilRice are working together toward reducing poverty and hunger by focusing on producing and distributing high-quality and improved rice seeds; developing varieties that are able to withstand flooding and drought; and exploring new and modern farming systems or technologies for better yield. The program aims to increase total production from 15.77 million metric tons in 2010 to 22.73 metric tons by 2016 at an average growth of 6% per year. One of the strategies of the NYR is to reduce rice wastage and increase the consumption of unpolished or brown rice and rice alternatives such as rootcrops.
Achieving rice self-sufficiency means better productivity and better income particularly for farmers. Farmers will directly benefit from rice self-sufficiency through improved household income and household food consumption. Rice self-sufficiency means lower price of rice that will enable consumers to fulfil their staple food requirements as well as diversify their diet with other nutritious foods such as fish, meat, fruits and vegetables.
Government policies and programs that are in place to address hunger and malnutrition
a. Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition. The country’s framework for nutrition improvement. It aims to reduce hunger and malnutrition through the implementation of priority actions.
- Promote desirable infant and young child feeding
- Micronutrient program (food fortification and micronutrient supplementation)
- Home, school and community food production
- Integrated Management of Severe and Acute Malnutrition
- Supplementary feeding for pregnant women and 6-23 months old children
- Nutrition education
- Livelihood programs
- Sanitary toilet facilities
- Safe drinking water supply
- Promotion of desirable nutrition and healthy lifestyle behaviours
- Nutrition in Disaster and Risk Reduction Management
- Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture and Development Programs
b. Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program (4Ps) – is a human development program of the national government investing on health and education among poor households, particularly of children 0-14 years old. It provides cash assistance to poor families to alleviate their immediate needs such as food, health and education and also aims to break the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human capital.
c. Agrikulturang Pilipino or Agri-Pinoy – the overall strategic framework of the Department of Agriculture that guides the various services and programs of the DA from 2011-2016 and beyond. Agri-Pinoy has 4 guiding principles, namely: food security and self-sufficiency, sustainable agriculture and fisheries, natural resource management, and local development. The principle of food security and self-sufficiency seeks to meet the food needs of the Philippines, particularly staple food, and make these accessible, affordable, safe and nutritious.
The actions to reduce hunger and malnutrition
a. Ensure food security. Everyone must have access to enough nutritious food all year long. People should be able to buy it, grow it, or get it through a safety net mechanism.
b. Prevent child undernutrition by ensuring proper nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, i.e. for the first nine months while in the womb, and from birth up to 23 months or before the child’s second birthday.
c. Develop sustainable food systems that will provid
e food for the people, preserve the environment and resilient to the changing climate.
d. Increase smallholder farmers’ productivity and income while creating decent employment. Improvements in their well-being create employment, cut poverty, increase the food supply, and stabilize prices for everyone.
e. Prevent food wastage. Produce and consume food sensibly. Wasted food means wasted water, soil, energy and effort.
| BJCJ school director Dr. Rolando Barlahan delivers his speech during the third Joint Regional LUPang Ilocos DCNPC and BNS Congress at the Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center in Laoag City. The congress, hosted by Ilocos Norte was held on September 20 and had the theme “Gutom at Malnutrisyon: BNS kaagapay sa Solusyon”. At least 700 barangay nutrition scholars from Region I attended the occassion, which was also graced by Ilocos Norte SP member Portia Pamela R. Salenda who served as keynote speaker. | Jun Ramos |
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