The Food Crisis - Essay Example

Introduction The topic of the essay is the food crisis in the Republic of the Philippines. What will be focused on is the apparent and very recent rice crisis in the country mentioned, considering that it is largely an agricultural country where undeveloped and / or provincial areas still mainly depend on farming and tending agricultural land dedicated to rice and other crops as the main source of not only income, but also of their daily food intake. Rice is a food staple in the Philippines, and is not only eaten as part of their main meals. Rice is also utilized for sweet foodstuffs, where food such as sweet sticky rice, rice crispies and even rice coffee are produced and included as a significant part of the Filipino diet. If Americans have bread as a major part of their everyday meals, Filipinos have their rice as part not just of their meals, but also of their culture. This being said, having a rice crisis in the Philippines has been a cause of near panic for the citizens of the country. This essay aims to look at the history of the food / rice crisis in the Philippines, what impact the crisis has had in the country and what is currently being done by the different parts of the local and international society to help address the said situation. The Philippine Food / Rice Crisis The Republic of the Philippines is one of the world’s largest rice importers, even though it is an agricultural country, and even though it supplies its local market with the bulk of its rice needs. Compared with the majority of Asian countries which also considers rice as its staple food, countries such as Thailand, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangladesh have lands and temperatures that are more suitable and appropriate for taking care of rice farms. Even with that as a fact, it was believed and later on, studied, that the Philippines could also be capable of providing all the rice needs of the Filipino citizens, thus minimizing, if not totally eliminating any further or additional needs to import rice from other nearby Asian countries. The former Food Minister during President Marcos’ regime, Mr. Jesus Tanchango, predicted that rice imports will not be a good enough solution for the rice shortage crisis of the country. He also mentioned that even just a small or a seemingly insignificant dip in international production of rice will significantly affect producers and importers of the said commodity. (Manila Times, 2008) From the original commercial price range of Php 24.00 to 30.00 per kilo of rice in the last quarter of 2007, rice prices have increased, or more accurately, jumped, to a price range of Php 35.00 – 40.00 per kilo. The government has quickly provided subsidized rice to the rural poor which cost a measly Php 18.25 per kilo. Reasons for the Crisis In the article in Manila Times (2008), Palawan Representative Abraham Mitra expressed last year that the allocated funding for the importation of rice should have just been spent and invested in improving and increasing the yield of the agricultural sector, more specifically on rice production for local consumption. Representative Mitra also mentioned that if even just a portion of the importation budget was allocated to improve the post-harvest facilities of the rice producers, it would have been extremely beneficial to the producers and the consumers of the country. Losses incurred after the harvesting of rice is pegged to be at around 14 to 25 percent. So if these post- harvest losses are addressed accordingly, then the Philippines should not have been inclined or should not have to import rice from its neighboring Asian countries, since the Department of Agriculture has stated that local rice production already accounts for 90 percent of the rice needs of the country. In the same article in Manila Times (2008), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) President Robert Zeigler was quoted in his interview with Agence France-Presse saying that several controllable and uncontrollable factors will affect production of rice, such as weather, pest problems, health and nutrition concerns and political changes in countries such as Bangladesh, Myanmar and Vietnam. Current Solutions Philippine Senator Mar Roxas stated in the same article that the usual exporter of rice to the Philippines, Thailand, has been non – committal this time, to selling rice produce to the country. Vietnam, however, is still going to sell rice to the Philippines, but could only commit to selling only half of the usual amount that it usually allocates to sell to the Philippines. In an agreement with Vietnam in March for a supply of 1.5 million metric tons (MT) to the Philippines, there was a significant portion in the contract that enables Vietnam to refuse to sell to the Philippines in cases of “natural disaster or harvest loss.” On the Philippines’ end, this clause is a shaky ground which almost, in effect, does not guarantee a significant amount of rice imports to the country. Two million metric tons of rice is how much the Philippines is going to import this year, regardless of the over 16 million metric tons locally harvested rice by the Philippine agricultural sector. As mentioned earlier, another quick solution that the government has executed in response to the rice crisis is the provision of government- subsidized rice that costs Php 18.25, compared to the commercially fully inflated rate of Php 35.00 – 40.00. The urban poor are the targets of this rice subsidization program, where each individual is sold a maximum of three kilos. NFA (National Food Authority) mobiles and stations have been deployed by the Macapagal- Arroyo government to distribute the said subsidized rice to depressed areas. It has become a common sight to see the Filipino urban poor cueing under sweltering heat in the middle of the day for the allocated three (3) kilos of rice per person at a very cheap price of Php 18.25 per kilo. In April, local farmers, from whom most of the rice supply of the Philippines comes from, have seen this crisis as an opportunity to earn more from their crop. The average Filipino farmer was able to incur a profit of about 55 percent higher than what they were earning in the fourth quarter of last year. There are some heartless individuals who take this crisis as an opportunity to make more money by hoarding rice in unsuspicious warehouses, and sell the rice supposedly allocated to the urban poor at a commercial rate. The government or NFA (National Food Authority) rice is bought, repackaged and resold at commercial rates. Profit from this venture is at 80 – 90 percent. The government is quick to take impressive action on the said offenders, where Philippine President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo issued warnings to the public that those caught committing this crime shall be sent to jail without unnecessary delay. The President has committed to take charge in leading the government on a massive crack down on this form of corruption. The mentioned acts of injustices to the urban and rural poor, who should be the recipients of the much- needed government subsidized rice, shall be caught via raids on suspected warehouses containing hoarded rice, and through deployment of troops to sustain vigilance against this crime against the poor. (Washington Post. 2008) Another action that President Macapagal- Arroyo has taken is a program that she launched during a food summit. This program is called “FIELDS” which stands for Fertilizer, Irrigation and Infrastructure, Extension and Education, Loans and insurance, Dryers and other post-harvest facilities, and Seeds. This plan of hers aims to drastically improve the agriculture sector so that the Philippines will eventually become rice- sufficient in the near future. (UPI Asia.com, 2008) Conclusion In this essay, the Philippine food crisis was reviewed, more specifically on the rice crisis that the country is currently experiencing. The importance of rice as a food staple was also described where it was reinforced that if bread is a main staple of Americans, rice plays the same role to the Filipino people. The Philippines is one of the world’s largest importers of rice even though the local rice production in the country accounts for about 90 percent of the Filipinos’ rice needs. Most rice imports of the Philippines come from Thailand and Vietnam, with which the Philippines has an agreement with regarding the amount of rice that the country is going to import in a year. It was also identified that there have only been short term solutions brought out by the Philippine government designed to address the rice crisis. The Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo is leading the country’s police force on a massive crack down against corruption specific to the rice crisis. Opportunists that purchase and hoard government subsidized rice, repackage and resell the commodity at a commercial price will pay for this crime. Warehouses are being raided, while the police forces are more vigilant than ever at looking out for criminals who practice this act against the urban and the rural poor. This marginalized sector is supposed to be the ones benefiting from the government subsidized rice being distributed through the government agency, the National Food Authority. As mentioned earlier in the article, if the assessment of the Department of Agriculture is correct, and that the local rice farmers are producing and providing for 90 percent of the current country rice needs, then post- harvest processes should be looked at to be improved. Losses in this part of the rice production process should be eliminated, and then maximized so that the Philippines should not have to import rice from the near by Asian countries, who are also experiencing the food crisis. Maintenance of irrigation, development and provision of hybrid seeds to farmers, and pothole repairs in the roads that link the farms to the nearest markets are ways by which to help improve the post-harvest process, and thereby, in consequence, minimize losses. If these actions have been done a long time ago, then this crisis would not have been experienced by the Filipino people. Bibliography Cariño, C. (2008). Rice Crisis “Imminent” A Long Time Ago [Internet]. The Sunday Times. Available from [Accessed 02 December 2008] Harden, B. (2008) Philippines Caught in Rice Squeeze [Internet]. Washington Post Foreign Service. Available from [Accessed 02 December 2008] Ofreneo, R. (2008) Food Crisis in the Philippines: ‘Give us This Day Our Daily Rice.” [Internet]. Fair Trade Web - Fair Trade Alliance. Available from [Accessed 02 December 2008]. Palatino, M. (2008) Solutions to the Philippines’ Rice Crisis [Internet]. United Press International, Inc. 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