Agriculture becomes a vital battleground in war vs hunger

MANILA, Philippines - The number of hungry people in the world remains high at 800 million, and the goals of governments to reduce it by half by the year 2015 will not be reached because the current rate of progress is too slow.

We can see from the report of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization  (FAO) that despite the great strides in science and technology, hunger and famine have overtaken many parts of the globe. The world has reached the age when population growth has outpaced food production.

“The situation facing the world today is not a threat to the viability of our economy but also a test of our ability as a nation to withstand pressure of survival,” according former food minister Jesus Tanchanco.

The world today, he said, is ridden with too many crises. “Each nation is fighting her kind of war – be it political, military or economic. No one is spared in the struggle, whether as a nation or as individuals.”

Agriculture, he said, is the vital battleground in the war against hunger and social upheaval.

“ Our country will never prosper unless we give agriculture the highest priority in our national recovery agenda,” said Tanchanco, who was also former administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA).

He lamented that efforts to provide the Filipino with ample rice have been characterized by importations to supplement local production.

“However, we are convinced that importations, which cost us billions of pesos every year, can be easily done away with if we will exert determined and sustained efforts to develop our grains industry,” Tanchanco said in an interview, as he expressed optimism that “there may come a time when we will no longer have to import the cereal.”

He said farmers growing the ordinary rice varieties can increase their yields many times more if they use hybrid seeds and the latest farming technology.

“Marami ng bansa  dito sa Asia, such as Cambodia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh,  Vietnam, kung saan  dito tayo nag-iimport ng bilyon-bilyong piso ng bigas at pati na rin ang Nigeria, ang gumagamit na rin ng hybrid rice  technology para lalu pang mapalaki nila ang kanilang inaaning palay. At ang teknolohiyang ‘yan ay galing mismo dito sa ating bansa – sa SL Agritech Corp.,” Tanchanco said. 

He said the successful story of hybrid rice in China has sparked its ambition to attain rice sufficiency through hybrid technology.

“To fully develop agriculture and invigorate its rural economy, China, considered the most populous nation on planet earth, has popularized advance science and technology which today, has not only substantially raised its food production but has also improved the living standards of its farmers, he said.

“This was the result of the successful implementation of hybrid rice production technology in China which enabled it to feed over 1.3 billion people and still be in a position to export its surplus in the world market,” Tanchanco said.

Hybrid rice technology, he said, “is one of the key technologies that can make the Philippines self-sufficient in rice. Local farmers growing the ordinary inbred rice seeds variety can increase their yields and income many times more if they use the hybrid seeds and the latest farming technology,” Tanchanco added.