THE RATE of hunger in the country climbed when the coronavirus disease pandemic hit last year.
Some 30.7 percent of families suffered hunger and 8.7 percent reported severe hunger during the crisis, the highest in 20 years, a September 2020 survey by the Social Weather Stations showed.
The social and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic pose grave risks to the nutritional status and survival of young children. As more families go hungry, more children will suffer from undernutrition, post poor performance in school, and be less productive when they become adults if there is no intervention.
In a country rich in agricultural and marine resources, why are millions hungry? High food prices are definitely among the reasons.
A research made nearly a decade ago by former Bureau of Agricultural Research (BA) director Dr. Eliseo Ponce bared: “In the Philippines, food is really expensive. We are even the most costly among ASEAN countries.”
Why does food cost beyond the reach of the poor in the Philippines? In Ponce’s opinion, it’s the lack of framework in policy building, outdated administrative guidelines, inadequate infrastructures, and abusive middlemen that are behind the country’s food prices hike.
So he suggested: to attain stability in food commodities, the government should take note of the following situations:
1) Bad weather conditions prevent farmers and fisherfolk from pursuing their livelihood. When natural calamities hit the country, the agricultural sector is first to suffer and is usually the worst hit. With less harvests due to disasters, sellers are forced to hike the price of goods.
What is disheartening is that the farmers and fisherfolk often get the lowest cut from the profit; a chunk goes to the middlemen.
2) High production cost, low productivity. The high cost of energy, transportation, and labor in food production is passed on to the consumers, if producers are to make any profits. Therefore it is important to prioritize projects that can lessen the costs of the process. For example, farm-to-market roads should be properly built with adequate materials.
3) Limitations in land resources. The urbanization of several areas in the Philippines means giving up fertile land, resulting in the decrease in productivity. As a consequence, food prices increase.
Used properly, land maximizes resources and empower the agriculture sector. This would help the economy and even alleviate poverty.
