Enrile urges gov't to stave off possible food shortage

MANILA, Philippines - Decisive government action is needed to stave off a possible food shortage that may arise from extensive damage to agriculture caused by massive flooding in food producing countries in Southeast Asia, Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile Jr. said yesterday.

“We are again appealing to the President to act decisively on warnings that are being sounded by both local and international experts. With rising pressures on food production not only in the Philippines but in many food-producing countries in the region, the government should not lose time in instituting meaningful reforms in our agricultural sector if we are to protect our people from a potential food crisis,” Enrile said.

Enrile reiterated his calls for President Aquino to certify as urgent the passage of House Bill 4626 or the Food for Filipinos First Act of 2011, saying much-needed reforms proposed in the bill are necessary to cushion the effects on the country of declining food supply in the region.

The lawmaker stressed the reforms spelled out in the measure need “gestation time” to produce results.

In a report dated Oct. 21, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said Southeast Asia is now facing serious food shortages after massive flooding in the region.

It noted that floods have damaged about 12.5 percent of the rice farmland in Thailand, 12 percent in Cambodia, 7.5 percent in Laos, 6 percent in the Philippines, and 0.4 percent in Vietnam.

Experts said the crop losses might trigger as much as a 17-percent rally in rice futures in Chicago this year. The impact of the problem will be most felt in Asia, where rice is the staple.

Enrile said that while Aquino had promised to end the country’s reliance on imported rice in his State of the Nation Address, various sectors pushing for agricultural reforms have bewailed Malacañang’s lack of support for legislation on food security.

“Various sectors pushing for reforms in the sector are still waiting for Malacañang to show a strong resolve pushing for solutions to address crucial issues such as food security and agricultural competitiveness which are being proposed in the bill,” he said.

The proposed measures include House Bill 2646, which seeks to require the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to define and put together a National Food Requirement Plan to improve planning in sourcing food supplies.

Also, the proposed legislation seeks to correct organizational dysfunction at the National Food Authority (NFA), which currently acts as procurer and regulator at the same time.

The bill also seeks to mandate the DA, DTI, the Department of Public Works and Highways to come up with an Agricultural Infrastructure Support Map (AISM) to serve as basis for the allocation of funds intended for agricultural infrastructure support. Furthermore, the measure seeks to allow accredited farmers’ cooperatives and organizations to use government irrigation facilities for free, as well as give them access to low-interest credit.