Rice self-sufficiency: A better solution to the country’s looming rice crisis
2008-03-27
In midst of a looming rice crisis, Malacañang released a 2.85 billion peso-augmentation budget to the Department Agriculture to boost production of rice and corn. This move does little to solve the impending rice crisis, according to Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM), a non-government research and advocacy institution.
"Such program still supports the government's formula of heavy rice importation, which negates self-sufficiency in rice production. The worse is yet to come as long as we remain heavily dependent on rice imports to achieve rice consumption requirements of the country. Self-sufficiency should therefore be the framework of government programs aimed at food security," said Mary Luz Feranil, AFRIM's Executive Director.
The Philippines, once a major rice producer in Asia, has become the region's top rice importer with an average annual importation of over one million metric tons a year from 1995 to 2006. This figure shows a dramatic increase from 151,588 metric tons for the period 1984 to 1994.
As posted in the website of Consumer International, a federation of consumer groups, the Philippines has experienced occasions of severe rice shortage in the past 20 years. One of the main reasons cited was that "rice production in the country has remained on subsistence level, landlord-dominated, and lacking in government support such as subsidies, infrastructure, and market access."
The government's foreign investment policies further contributed to the decrease in rice production. Massive land conversions paved the way for biofuel production, plantation expansions, and large scale mining operations and intensified the loss of land areas for rice farming.
Rice, a generally staple food in Asia, is indeed a scarce commodity even in the region that produces much of the world's supply. Vietnam and Thailand, the country's traditional rice suppliers could not commit to our rice importation requirements.
Early this month, reports said that the government asked Vietnam to guarantee around 1.5 million tons of rice shipments. Vietnam, however, could only commit one million tons, 700,000 tons of which are part of the previous contract. Like Vietnam, Thailand, is also limiting its rice exports.
Feranil explained further that food security requires a coherent and well-coordinated agriculture and macroeconomic programs at the local and national levels. Thus, food security ultimately boils down to the
availability of enough rice supply at an affordable cost to all people at all times. The government should therefore institute policies to support local rice farmers and ensure continued viability of rice production in the country." Feranil added.
By: AFRIM Advocacy Committee
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