More mouths to feed

By 2027 or five years from now, the number of Filipinos is expected to reach 120 million. By 2050, this number will grow to 151 million. The Philippines is currently the second largest country in terms of population in the ASEAN region, and with its current reproductive rate, will likely remain so for a long time.

More people means more mouths to feed, and this should be a wake-up call for our government to seriously reframe its thinking about how to improve the country’s food value chain, and not just simply by increasing the yield of our farmers and fisher folks.

For too long now, any discussion on food security for our government has been too focused on rice, a thinking that is no longer appropriate for an economy where a growing segment of its population is now earning more, and therefore able to pay for higher-priced food products like pork, chicken, and fish.

This is why we’re seeing severe inflation pressures whenever there are market shortages of these food products, just as what happened when the African swine fever (ASF) decimated the number of hogs in local swine farms or whenever a natural disaster affects vegetable production or fish catch.

Long-term livestock growing plan

The local livestock industry – mainly pork, chicken, and eggs – currently comprise a significant portion of Filipinos’ diet. The need for a long-term plan has become more pressing, not only to ensure that local supply will continue to be sufficient, but also to be produced at competitive prices if compared to imports without tariff protection.

One of the biggest problems faced by our livestock growers is the high price of feed mixes, most of which continue to be sourced from other countries at prices increasingly affected by minimum access volumes that are not in sync with growing demand.

Corn, which can be sourced locally, is perennially in short supply, thus necessitating growers to turn to feed mixes high in imported ingredients. Even backyard growers of pork are now more dependent on more such feed components to avoid any ASF contamination, and this has raised their farm gate prices higher vis-à-vis commercial growers.

Compared to other hog raisers in the ASEAN region, the Philippines has the highest cost of production, driven mainly by more expensive feed grains. The same also applies to chicken growers. A review of the high tariff on imported ingredients of feeds is imperative.

The growing local demand for meat products, especially with the pandemic at its tail end, should encourage businesses to invest more in improving production capabilities, and therefore further reduce the price of its produce.

Thailand, for example, has had significant improvements in commercial swine and poultry growing, boosting local capability to the point that it is now a strong exporter of such livestock in the world markets.

Thailand, incidentally, has also been aggressive in bringing down its tariffs on imported grains that are fed to its locally produced livestock. Such has, likewise, helped bring down the unit cost of their pork and chicken growing operations.

Going beyond food security

The importance of a healthy agri-food sector for the Philippines goes even beyond food security. A consumption-driven economy is expected to significantly contribute to the country’s recovery from the disruption brought about by the pandemic.

Livestock, aquaculture, vegetables and fruit production have the potential of creating millions more in jobs, and therefore increasing their overall contribution to the economy’s gross domestic product (GDP). New fiscal interventions are needed to lay out a more conducive environment for agri-entrepreneurs.

Our food chain systems will have to be scrutinized to streamline all segments and maximize efficiency. Innovations will come into play, especially with the foreseen larger role of technology and artificial intelligence in the agri-food sector.

Other ASEAN countries are encouraging investments that would introduce sustainability interventions, either directly benefiting individual farmers or farming cooperatives, or through tax incentives for businesses. Such moves underscore the need to improve food productivity to match demand.

Aquaculture is an area where the use of technology will come into increased play to cater to higher demand for fish products in view of dwindling wild fish catch.

Plant-based diets are becoming popular, and bringing such consumer preferences to the drawing board should be taken into account now even if these could become irreversible trends only in the longer term.

Food department

On the agriculture side, a radical reform on land utilization should be considered. As opined in previous columns, small farm lots have proven to be a deterrent to improved enhanced productivity.

This being the case, effective measures should be adopted to bring together small farmers in cooperatives where they are able to share mechanization inputs – or look at reforming the current land reform law to make it more relevant and appropriate.

More importantly, the stewardship of food production must be undertaken jointly and as part of agriculture. It sounds hollow for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to talk about food security when its scope of responsibility is limited to the promotion of agricultural and fisheries development and growth.

Should we perhaps consider a Department of Food and Agriculture that would provide a unified direction over food security, which has come up high on the agenda of many governments both in developed and developing economies.?

The pandemic has spawned new perspectives about global food supply chains and their vulnerability during times of disruptions. Then, shouldn’t we also heed what is happening, and respond with urgency and purpose?

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net.