Drop in hunger incidence proves govt efforts are bearing fruit, says DA

MANILA, Philippines – The drop in the incidence of hunger among Filipino families is proof that the Arroyo administration is succeeding in ensuring food security for the country, according to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap. Yap made that assessment on Wednesday based on the results of an independent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) that showed hunger incidence dropping significantly from 23.7 percent to 15.5 percent in first three months of 2009. Yap said the survey results would serve as "a strong impetus" for his department to further step up the implementation of food security and sufficiency programs to benefit consumers. The survey reported that the number of Filipinos who experienced severe hunger (respondents experienced it very often) decreased from 5.2 percent (about 940,000 families) to 4.4 percent (down to 810,000 families), while moderate hunger (those that experienced it not that often) declined from 18.5 percent (3.3 million families) to 11.1 percent (2 million families). Overall hunger is now lowest in Mindanao, as it declined by 22 points from a record-high 33.7 percent (1.4 million families) in December to 11.7 percent (490,000 families) in February. An earlier report released by Malacañang had traced this drop in hunger incidence to various government initiatives topped by the Food for School Program (FSP), which involves the daily distribution, through National Food Authority (NFA), of a kilogram rice for free to over 3.5 million preschool and schoolchildren and their families. It also cited the DA’s Programang Gulayan Para sa Masa (PGMA), which was supposed to have fed close to two million families, and the DA’s establishment of Barangay Bagsakans in Metro Manila and other regions, which had become a source of rice, vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish at cheaper prices for poor families. Yap said such positive SWS survey results couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time as the nation is about to observe the first anniversary of the National Food Summit — last held at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga April 4, 2008 — in which President Arroyo rolled out an ambitious food security and sufficiency program dubbed FIELDS. Fields stands for Fertilizer, Irrigation, Education and training of farmers and fisherfolk, Loans, Dryers and other postharvest facilities, and Seeds. The NFA has supplied a total of 5.1 million bags of rice worth P5.2 billion for the FSP in the last five years to support the government’s drive against malnutrition among school children and to address hunger among their families as part of the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP). The NFA jointly implements the program with the Education and Social Welfare Departments. The FSP, which started in school year 2004, has been an ongoing program in combating hunger and alleviating poverty. Under the FSP, each pupil beneficiary is given a kilogram of rice each day in exchange for their class attendance. Aside from improving school attendance, the program primarily assures the health and well being of pupil-beneficiaries because FSP is a priority recipient of the Iron-Fortified Rice (IFR) being distributed by NFA. NFA administrator Jessup Navarro said the FSP this school year had a total of 1,846,564 pupil beneficiaries. Of this total, 1,172,688 are situated in 20 Food Poor provinces, 341,590 are within the National Capital Region and 332,286 in the top 100 poorest municipalities determined using the National Statistical Coordination Board’s small area estimation (SAE) methodology. - GMANews.TV