Lea Salonga to highlight ‘World Food Day’ in PHL

Singer-actress Lea Salonga, one of the faces of the United Nations’ (UN) food security campaign, will highlight World Food Day in the Philippines along with other guests, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Sunday. Salonga – along with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Philippine representative Kazuyuki Tsurumi, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, and other UN officials – will lead the reading of a World Food Day Pledge in Quezon City on Friday, the DA said in a statement. This week, the DA will hold several activities in preparation for World Food Day, which falls on October 16. In last year's World Food Day events, Salonga joined three other world-renowned personalities – Canadian singer Celine Dion, Raoul Bova, and American actress Susan Sarandon – as FAO’s Goodwill Ambassadors in the global fight against hunger. The FAO marks World Food Day this year with the theme “Food prices: From crisis to stability." “On World Food Day 2011, let us look seriously at what causes swings in food prices, and do what needs to be done to reduce their impact on the weakest members of global society," the FAO said in a briefer. (See more in the PDF from FAO below) The FAO has noted the Philippines, along with several other countries, is boosting domestic food production in response to high food prices. The Philippines, which used to be the world’s largest rice importer, for example, is seeking to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2013, the FAO said. “The government is intending to cut imports from more than two million tonnes last year to less than one million this year following the launch of an intensified production program that is expected to result in a 15 percent increase in the summer harvest and achieve self-sufficiency in two to three years’ time," the agency said. Earlier, the FAO already said it sees the Philippines improving its rice production in the next two years. The agency’s estimates reflect the projections of the Aquino administration, though to a lesser extent. — LBG, GMA News