Despite significant challenges, the Philippines can achieve food security through a technology-enabled systems-based approach anchored on a multi-sectoral national food and nutrition plan that targets all while prioritizing the most vulnerable people.
This was asserted by Ivory Myka Galang, Supervising Research Specialist at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), in her study titled “Is Food Supply Accessible, Affordable, and Stable? The State of Food Security in the Philippines,” which she recently presented during a PIDS public webinar.
According to Galang, discussing food security is essential because it directly contributes to the larger goal of nutrition security.
She noted that, according to the World Food Summit definition, food security could be achieved by ensuring the availability of food supply, physical and economic accessibility, utilization (food consumption, safety, and quality), and price and volume stability.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that the Philippines has a 100 percent self-sufficiency ratio (SSR), or the ability to produce enough to meet domestic demand, the SSR for rice, pork, and chicken has dropped to 90 percent. In recent decades, the SSR of tuna and galunggong (round scad) has also been reduced to 90 and 80 percent, respectively.
Food availability and access to food are influenced by transportation and food sector infrastructure. "Food prices are heavily influenced by infrastructure." Food, particularly perishables, is temperature and handling-sensitive. Food waste increases if it is damaged during transportation due to uneven roads or inadequate storage facilities. Food prices will rise as a result," Galang explained in Filipino.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of Filipino households with moderate or severe food insecurity increased from 43 to 62%, according to Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) data. The Philippines ranked 67th out of 113 nations on the Global Food Security Index in 2022.
The Department of Agriculture's (DA) food security framework encapsulates the government's food security campaign. It has various programs and initiatives supported by multiple agencies and local government units, such as promoting home or urban gardening, developing prepackaged nutritious products, educational campaigns such as the Pinggang Pinoy seal, and school-based nutrition programs such as supplementary feeding.
Galang, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of taking a systems-level approach to addressing food security issues because the food system is interconnected with transportation, energy, health, and other methods.
She also stated that other pressing issues contributing to food insecurity must be addressed. These include increasing agricultural yield to meet domestic food demand, addressing the issue of land conversion for residential and commercial development, assisting smallholders in increasing crop yield, keeping farming and food production costs low, and improving roads and transportation systems.
Nonetheless, according to Galang, the country can achieve food security by collaborating with government agencies and other sectors to provide short-term and long-term solutions. (Source: PIDS)