Solon says foreign land ownership may affect food security

MANILA, Philippines - Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed his concern on altering constitutional provisions on land ownership, noting that foreign ownership would affect the country's food security.

 

"Eleven of the 17 land deals in the Philippines involving foreign investors are concentrated on harvesting crops for biofuel, not food," Gatchalian said.

 

The lawmaker, a member of the House Committee on Trade and Industry, said that he is in favor of amending economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution to improve the country's economic performance but noted that altering the current 60-40 provision that allows 40 percent foreign ownership and allowing 100 percent foreign ownership may entice farmers to sell their farmlands.

 

"Instead, the government must look at small farmers as partners to reaching that goal. It should safeguard our farmers' right to till their land and not allow big-time foreign corporate individuals and firms to claim our land," Gatchalian said.

 

According to a report from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), nine out of 10 of the world's 570 million farms are managed by families which produce 80 percent of the world's food.

 

Products of these family farms affect over 800 million people, making it vital to the solution of the hunger problem, said FAO director-general José Graziano da Silva.

 

Gatchalian cited Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam as having similar land ownership provisions with the Philippines but have higher foreign direct investments (FDIs).

 

The Valenzuela City lawmaker said that there are alternate ways to increase the country's FDIs, aside from opening land ownership to foreigners.

 

Farmers belong to the top three sectors with high poverty incidence, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. FAO recommended that there should be policies to increase farmers' access to markets, credit, seeds and fertilizers.