Food security: The battle cry

As COVID19-influenced lockdown continues and the end remains uncertain, our food supply will certainly reach breaking point. In fact, had Vietnam’s plan to stop exporting until June this year wasn’t lifted, in the next two months we might just starve or be content with our own produced root crops, if there is any. 

Undeniably, we are dependent on Vietnam to fill our stomach. The world’s third largest exporter of rice, it is just right behind India and Thailand. Notably, the Philippines is its rice top importer. With this fact alone, we can easily surmise how huge our rice imports is and how dependent are we on Vietnam. In simple terms, if Vietnam’s export ban wasn’t lifted (it was lifted last week), we will surely starve. 

This is so insulting for a race who bragged about training the Thais, the world’s second largest exporter, on rice farming. So disappointing to a country that many believed is endowed with vast natural resources and beneficial climate.

Yes, our country is undoubtedly rich in natural resources. In fact, China (despite its vast land area) had to impose its presence and throw its weight into a very tiny Scarborough Shoal (apparently, within our territory) not because of the group of islets’ size but of its value. 

Despite these God-bestowed gifts, however, we’ve remained poor. Truth to tell, of the country’s population, save for a handful of middle class and a pinch of those whom we call the elite, 90% of the rest maybe considered as the socialites among mendicants. The remaining 10% of the unfortunates are simply referred to as “parasites”, “beggars”, “mendicants” or “panhandlers”.   

Consequently, when crisis looms, like what we are in right now, we are severely hit.  Crushed and mangled, all accusing fingers are pointed to one direction – poverty. Making matters worse is our propensity to focus on poverty at face value not its roots. Naturally, whatever initiatives we try to implement could not even put a tiny dent in its surface. 

Sarcastically, in our solitude, we can even wonder if all these acts are deliberate and are just orchestrated. The possibility that our politicians are not seriously considering any solution to free them (the poor) from bondage would, in fact, even be a big truth. After all, having poverty makes it handy for them to have a platform in every election – poverty alleviation.

So that, right where we are today, we can see so much uneven distribution of food. The irony is, while some are in fitness gyms spending thousands and, at the same time, go for nutritionist-planned diets to lose weight others are underweight as their pockets are starving for pennies and their wallets are on a diet.

Undeniably, such scenarios are obtaining in our midst today. That is what we call food insecurity. This is quite appalling. Globally, aside from being known as one of the largest exporters of household helpers, we are considered as an agricultural country.

Pertinent facts support this. For one, economic data last year (source: Wikipedia) revealed that a huge 22.9% of our labor force is in the agriculture sector. However, it only contributes a measly 7.4% to our GDP. Simply put, we are an agricultural country based on input not on output.  What kept our economy going were the contributions of our services and industry sectors which account for more than 90%. 

Clearly, therefore, this sector is so inefficient. Sadly, some even left their farms and tried their luck in the urban areas. Consequently, they squeeze themselves into the slums and pad the number of informal settlers in the major cities. Going on for decades, this rural exodus remained unabated.

Thus, as has been the country’s norm, we’ve always opted for rice importation. With our population growing at the vicinity of 1.7 percent a year or close to 1.8 million, it seems that we will, probably, embrace this as a permanent solution.

Well, we can have countless of discourses and arguments as to what measures should benefit and what are those that shall disadvantaged the others. Straightforwardly, however, these arguments will never help us solve these nagging food shortages. What is important now is for this government to come up with sustainable solutions to address these concerns. Solutions that should come from within not from imports.

Remember, food insecurity in the country is a major concern as COVID19 showed. This government must wake up. Do nothing, we will all starve.