FAO to PHL: Give food security top priority

Food security should be among the top priorities of the Aquino administration, said Kazuyuki Tsurumi, the country representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Tsurumi said this is needed to surmount problems related to agriculture production, climate change and the World Trade Organization’s impact on developing countries. “One important point the country should consider is the survey results that says 20 percent of Filipinos do not have enough food to eat," Tsurumi said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site. He said the need to increase rice production should be addressed because it is the country's staple food. (See: UN report mirrors PHL ambitions toward self-sufficiency in rice) “Not only rice should be promoted but [agriculture] should include other widely-used crops," he said. Tsurumi cautioned government officials and farmers not to “overuse the land" and consider water issues and how people from the upland utilize water resources for their farms. (See: Cropping intensity reaches 135%, says Agri Dept.) “Rain-fed areas should also be considered in the utilization of government resources," he added. Tsurumi noted there are success stories not only in other developing countries but in the Philippines as well because government agriculture officials and farmers have undertaken capability-building interventions. He said the country should also encourage farmers to do more viable marketing strategies to get their children into their trade and ensure younger farmers in the future. “Farmers in the Philippines have been instructed how to introduce some value-added innovations in their products," he noted. — MRT, GMA News