EJ Qua Hiansen l July 2, 2024 l Manila Bulletin
Food is the most essential requirement for human sustenance, especially regarding nutrition. We not only have to have enough to eat but also eat the right food to fuel our bodies. Unfortunately, food is inaccessible for too many Filipinos, and eating the right food is a luxury when they do not even have enough food to begin with. Natural disasters, other supply chain shocks, and lower adaptation of technology in agriculture have led to shortages of commonly used food items, thus driving up prices. It is no wonder that President Marcos has repeatedly promised to bring the cost of rice down to P20 per kg. Food costs can be reduced by increasing the food supply, through improving yields and reducing wastage.
Addressing the monumental challenge of food security in the Philippines is not a task that the Government can tackle alone. It demands a comprehensive, society-wide strategy. Recognizing this, PHINMA, in collaboration with the Stratbase ADR Institute and the Makati Business Club, organized a policy forum titled “Achieving Food Security: Advancing Investments for Agricultural Sustainability.” The forum brought together government and industry leaders to deliberate on strategies for enhancing food security and agricultural sustainability in the face of escalating climate change challenges.
The keynote address of the Department of Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Regulations, Atty. Asis Perez, laid out the challenges for the audience while also providing welcome updates on the Department of Agriculture initiatives that the private sector can and should support. He shared two sector goals: boosting local production to ensure access to affordable and nutritious food and developing the industry so that it becomes profitable to all stakeholders in the value chain. He started his speech by showing how many tropical typhoons hit the Philippines between 1985 and 2005, emphasizing how much of our food production is lost due to natural calamities as a result of our geographic vulnerability. We further learned that experts estimate that about 30% of food loss and wastage occur during the supply chain process highlighting the inefficiencies in the supply chain. Addressing this can positively impact our food security and by extension, the lives of the Filipino people. Undersecretary Perez and Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa both underscored the lack of investment that has been made in the agricultural sector with lower mechanization rates compared to regional peers, encouraging the business community to play its part.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 44.7% of the Philippines population faces severe or moderate food insecurity while according to the Social Weather Station (SWS), 19% of families in Metro Manila reported involuntary hunger in the 1st quarter of 2024. According to SWS, even among families that do not typically consider themselves poor, involuntary hunger increased to 9.8% in the quarter from 5.9% in December 2023. Anecdotally, I am sure that many of us have had conversations about how the cost of groceries and eating out has gone up. The fundamentals of good business have always been addressing a societal need, and in the Philippines, growing hunger is a glaring need. Businesses can deploy their know-how and investment capital in search of innovative ways to ensure food security for all Filipinos.
Representing the business community, my colleague, Danielle del Rosario, put it best, saying, “We will seize this opportunity to support our agricultural sector, driving economic progress and paving the way for a more equitable, resilient, and prosperous Philippines.” Let us all work towards achieving food security for our nation.
EJ Qua Hiansen is the CFO of PHINMA Corp. and Chair of the Junior FINEX Committee of the FINEX Research & Development Foundation. The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FINEX. Photo from Pinterest.