Filipino farmers, fishers most vulnerable to hunger—Oxfam

MANILA, Philippines—Hunger hounds the country’s food producers, statistics show, but the picture is not all that bleak. By 2013, officials say, the country may attain self-sufficiency in rice.

A report by Oxfam International-Philippines on Friday said Filipino fishermen and farmers are the two poorest sectors  of Philippine society, and are also the most vulnerable to hunger.

Filipino farmers have a poverty incidence of 40 percent and fishers 50 percent

“The great paradox is that they are surrounded by the means to produce food, and yet they are the most vulnerable to hunger,” Oxfam said in its report marking World Food Day on Saturday.

According to the Department of Agriculture, the agriculture and fishery sectors contribute nearly 20 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.

Total gross value of agricultural output in the first semester of 2011 reached P706.4 billion at current prices, 16 percent more than the 2010 level in the same period, the department said in its first semester report.

Oxfam’s report mirrored DA data on farmers’ income, which showed that farming in the Philippines cannot support a family. According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, a farmer’s monthly average income is about P20,000.

The Philippines also has to grapple with the challenges of food production. The country loses  about 822,000 metric tons of rice every year—about the same amount the country imported in 201—due to inefficient production and wasteful consumption, Oxfam said.

Of that number, 449,000 metric tons are lost during the post-harvest process, while 37,000 metric tons are classified as spoiled. The rest are leftovers.

Oxfam also noted that forest degradation destroyed agricultural lands. Topsoil loss from logging and land clearing reached 5.2 million hectares.

Oxfam also warned that agribusiness companies, which led to investments on 5.6 million hectares of land for biofuels and agricultural exports, could squeeze the supply for food.