Nograles: Gov’t to roll out National Food Policy on October 16

MANILA, Philippines — The government will roll out its National Food Policy (NFP) on October 16 in time for the World Food Day celebration to address reported rising cases of hunger, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said Wednesday.

“In celebration of World Food Day, we will launch the National Food Policy which is a roadmap towards zero hunger,” Nograles said in an online interview with INQUIRER.net.

“As you heard the President when he addressed the United Nations, the Philippines still remains committed to our Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Hindi natin pinakawalan ‘yan and SDG 2 is zero hunger,” he added.

Nograles, chair of the Task Force Zero Hunger, stressed that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis did not delay the launching of the NFP but rather emphasized the urgency to start the program, noting that the pandemic has contributed to hunger incidence due to the disruption of the economy.

A Social Weather Station survey earlier revealed that some 7.6 million Filipino families had experienced involuntary hunger in the three months prior to the conduct of the survey from September 17 to 20, 2020.

The NFP will outline the country’s anti-hunger priorities based on a comprehensive understanding of the problem of hunger and related issues, and will provide a roadmap for achieving zero hunger, Nograles explained.

He added that the policy will touch issues on job creation, availability of food, support programs for agriculture and fishery sector; assistance to the vulnerable sector of the society, and education and awareness campaign.

Nograles said one of the programs under the Task Force is the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty Program, which aims to increase farm productivity and the incomes of farmers, ensure food and nutrition security, and mitigate hunger and malnutrition in urban and rural communities.

The program, he added, will also link community-based organizations to the institutional feeding programs of the government to ensure that they have ready buyers for their produce.

KGA