ANGARA: BETTER AGRI SYSTEM IS SOLUTION TO RP'S
HIGH HUNGER RATES

Senator Edgardo J. Angara urges the government to tighten its agricultural policies following yesterday's release of the Food Security Index 2010. The Philippines earned a High Risk from Food Insecurity rating in the study, ranking 52nd among more than a hundred countries.

The study was conducted by Maplecroft, a British risk analysis firm in cooperation with the United Nation's (UN) World Food Programme. The ratings were based on 12 main criteria, including the quality of agriculture and distribution, inflation rates and food prices, extreme weather changes and stability of government.

"These studies and the statistics should worry us, and serve as a wake-up call for the government to take action," said Angara, who is a former secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

Angara, who authored the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), pushes for the improvement of the country's food security index by focusing on post-harvest network, irrigation, road networks and maximizing rural lands. He also said that the country's food shortages can be addressed by boosting production and streamlining the distribution system.

Angara also said support to farmers is key to improving agriculture productivity.

" We can improve local production and lessen our heavy grain importation if we can give our farmers the support they need. Access to credit, better infrastructure, good irrigation systems and post-harvest network should be available for our farmers through the passage of these bills," said Angara.

Many parts of South East Asia performed better than the Philippines in this study, due to the other factors considered such as higher GDP rates and less cost of production. "Instead of depending on imports from our Asian neighbors, we should be allocating more of our budget towards long-term investments to boost our agricultural system. This way we also create sustainable jobs for those in the provinces and drastically reduce rural poverty and hunger," Angara said.