Palace calls for food security summit to tackle agri-fishery sector woes

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday called for a Food Security Summit that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will spearhead in a bid to address issues in the country’s agri-fishery sector.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Food Security Summit aims to discuss mitigation measures on the “upsurge in the prices of pork, drop in farmgate prices of palay, the onslaught of the African Swine Flu (ASF), among others.”

“It further seeks to present some models for agribusiness value-chain approach, LGU-led agri-fishery extension system, and strengthening the role and capacities of local price coordinating councils and regional development councils,” he added.

Pork prices have soared as hog raisers battle the spread of ASF.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 124 set price ceilings of P270 for a kilo of “kasim or pigue,” P300 per kilo for “liempo,” and P160 per kilo for dressed chicken.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1390570/duterte-signs-eo-on-60-day-pork-chicken-price-cap-in-ncr

But some vendors recently went on a “pork holiday” to protest the price ceiling on pork and chicken in Metro Manila.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1393192/pork-holiday-looms-in-metro

“[T]he summit aims to develop a National Food Security Plan to achieve our vision of a food-secure and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolks, and where consumers have continuous flow of food and producers have continuous productivity, unhampered movement of agricultural commodities, accessibility and price stability,” Roque said.

KGA