Nationalist People’s Coalition senatorial candidate Loren Legarda gets a rousing welcome during a sortie in Malabon where she spent many years as a child.
MANILA, Philippines — Amid dire warnings by the United Nations of a looming shortage of staple crops and rising food prices due to the war in Ukraine, three-term Senator Loren Legarda on Thursday called on the country’s economic managers to ensure food security by helping Filipino farmers and fisherfolk.
Citing a report from the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Legarda said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month has prevented grain shipments from the two countries which jointly account for roughly 25% of world wheat exports and 16% of corn exports. She said the crisis is now being felt in some of the world’s poorest countries, including the Philippines.
Legarda said some countries like Turkey reportedly banned wheat flour exports to secure its own needs. Next to Ukraine, she said Turkey is one of the Philippines’ biggest sources of wheat flour, the main ingredient for bread, the staple pan de sal and other food products.
“The war in Ukraine is teaching us a very valuable lesson: we cannot rely on other countries for our food needs. We must produce our own if we want to ensure our survival and food security,” she stressed.
While the Philippines does not produce wheat, Legarda said local farmers produce a lot of corn. But instead of getting support from the Department of Agriculture (DA), their livelihood is being threatened by plans to cut tariffs and increase allowable import volumes.
“Corn is important not only for the animal feed industry but also for our food needs. Millions of Filipinos eat corn as a staple or mix it with rice. That makes it a very important crop,” she explained.
However, some members of the economic team are considering a reduction in the corn tariff to five percent for in-quota imports under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme from 35 percent, and to 15 percent for out-quota imports.
“This could kill the local corn industry and the 62.5 million Filipinos relying on corn farming and its related industries. Besides, why import when local corn is cheaper, if not better, than imports?” she asked.
Legarda said the same is true with rice, pork, chicken, fish and even vegetables. “The Philippines considers itself an agricultural country but Filipino farmers don’t seem to get the support they need. Instead, we are relying on imports for our food needs,” she stressed.
If reelected to the Senate, Legarda said she would help empower farmers by providing them a strategic mix of policy and funding support to help them modernize and compete globally. “I have many friends in the agri sector who say that they don’t need any funding from government. All they need is a policy environment favorable to local producers and not importation as a ‘quick fix’ solution to our food needs,” she stressed.