THIS IS good news: For the first semester of 2021, all provinces in Region 6 except for Aklan and Negros Occidental achieved at least 100 percent rice sufficiency rate – Capiz, 186.76; Antique, 181.17; Iloilo, 169.30; and Guimaras, 152.48.
Aklan had 96.33 rice sufficiency rate and Negros Occidental, 87.19 – both fairly high.
It is such a relief that despite the coronavirus disease pandemic, Western Visayas is 138.73 percent rice sufficient, according to the Department of Agriculture. This part of the country doesn’t have to worry about rice shortage.
But it is ironic that millions of Filipinos go hungry even if our country is so rich in natural resources. To effectively reduce, and hopefully eliminate, hunger, as well as malnutrition and poverty, we have to provide our people the kind of support that will have long-term effects. We need to boost food self-sufficiency through stronger support for agriculture.
Our farmers, who feed the nation, are among the poorest of the poor who need government support and intervention. The free irrigation for farmers, which was introduced in the 2017 national budget and sustained in the 2018 national budget, should boost the agriculture sector. Lowering of production costs of small farmers will help achieve food security, encourage more citizens to engage in or go back to farming, and improve the income of our small farmers.
Meanwhile, there’s a novel call – the establishment of vegetable gardens in backyards, schools and communities. These won’t only address the problem on hunger but malnutrition as well. The government has current programs that already promote community gardening. The Department of Education has Gulayan sa Paaralan program, while the household beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program are encouraged to engage in organic backyard and communal farming.
But we want all Filipinos to be involved because this is not only for food production, it also helps create and preserve healthy ecosystems, conserve the country’s crop genetic diversity and heirloom plants as a strategy for climate change adaptation, mitigation and resiliency, and promote public awareness on ecological and sustainable use of land resources for food production and other products.
Rice, its production, supply and price, are matters related to our food security. It is important to provide the necessary support for agriculture, especially for small farmers – and even the establishment of community vegetable gardens around the country – to address hunger and malnutrition and achieve food security.
