Importing rice won’t solve RP food woes - Angara

MANILA, Philippines –Importing millions of tons of rice would not solve the country's food security woes, Sen.Edgardo Angara warned Wednesday. Angara, who served as Agriculture secretary under President Joseph Estrada, issued the warning in the wake of reports that a new deal for importation of millions of tons of rice had been signed between Vietnam and the Philippines. "We are spending billions of resources which otherwise could be allocated to long-term investments to boost our agricultural productivity," Angara said in an article posted at the Senate Web site (www.senate.gov.ph). "Our failure to initiate a long-term and focus effort to boost agricultural productivity could result in more poverty and widespread hunger." Importation could help boost buffer stocks but not for very long, he said. "The key is we need to focus our resources toward long-term agri investments in the form of post-harvest facilities, infrastructures, and research," he said. Angara noted that the Philippines continually faces the problem of high food costs. Worse, it has the highest food prices among ASEAN countries. This spells bad news, especially "during these tough times with the credit crunch already pinching us all," he added. Citing reports reaching him, he said the Philippines has signed an agreement to buy at least one million tons of rice from Vietnam. The delivery of imported rice would start in February. There are, however, conflicting data from sources on how much rice would be imported by the Philippines. Two sources cited the figure 1.5 million tons, while a third trader said that a million tons of rice would be imported.. Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) records show that Philippine rice stocks rose last month as palay harvests peaked, assuring the country's rice supply for the first quarter. Total rice stocks were estimated at 2.954 million metric tons (MT), enough to supply the national requirement for 89 days. Filipinos consume about 33,000 MT of rice daily. The National Food Authority (NFA) maintains 15-day buffer stocks at any time of the year, except during the lean months of July to September when stocks should be good for at least 30 days. During the rice crisis in the first half 2008, inventories in NFA warehouses dipped to eight-day stocks. Angara thinks the government has to ensure food security through long-term investments in agriclture. He also said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) emphasized the need for wide-scale structural reform in the agriculture sector to prevent future food price surges. The Food and Agriculture Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger, said the higher food prices accounts for the increase in global hunger, from 75 million to about 925 million worldwide. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the world's leading rice research and training center based in Los Baňos, Laguna, has called on governments to reinvest in agriculture. Investments should be funneled to research geared toward strengthening agricultural research, infrastructure development, training and education of agricultural scientists. Angara said that genuine investments in agriculture should include rehabilitation of irrigation facilities and provision of post-harvest facilities. Rehabilitation of inadequate irrigation systems in 400,000-hectares of land could yield an additional 2 million tons of rice, while better post-harvest facilities could help save 15 percent of production losses. This could achieve not only higher agricultural productivity but also rural poverty by providing jobs to many poor farmers. "The bottom is not yet hit and we may see more joblessness and more people falling below the poverty line," Angara said. "And that's why we crafted the 2009 budget to act as a crucial cushion. We must spend these precious limited resources and put it in to good use so that we will be providing our people with some cushion and safety net." - GMANews.TV