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WITH screaming headlines on the rice crisis now the staple diet in
almost every major newspaper in the Asia/Pacific region, Senator Mar
Roxas provided his own food for thought on the issue by more or less
suggesting that the Department of Agriculture was the last to know
that a major problem was about to hit Filipino dining tables.
Thundered Roxas: “The Food Summit should have
been convened long before the DA’s admonition for the people to
start eating brown rice or half-a-cup of rice. The government was
obviously caught flat-footed by the shooting up of rice prices in
the world market and we now see an adrenaline rush among executives
to come up with abrupt measures.”
Last week the BBC devoted quite a bit of prime
time to zoom in on the rice crisis in the Philippines, with the
Beeb’s reporter (while perched halfway up to the ceiling on a
tower of rice sacks in a government warehouse!) asserting that the
Philippines was now the world’s largest exporter of rice.
And footage of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap
showing the reporter around the warehouse tightly packed from floor
to ceiling with sacks of rice from Vietnam seemed to prove that
point. Though it must be said that the case Yap appeared to be
making to BBC viewers with his guided tour was that there was no
problem of a rice shortage in the Philippines.
Roxas, for his part, is correctly suggesting
that the crisis provides a good opportunity for the country to get
far-sighted and plan ahead. He explains: “We must now convert the
current crisis into a genuine opportunity for agricultural reforms.
What we need is a ten-year food security plan done quietly but
competently in consultation with experts and stakeholders, attuned
with global trends and realities but with very clear domestic
targets and a realistic to-do list.”
The senator—who as the Liberal Party president
is one of the top bets for the 2010 presidential race—believes
that unless far reaching steps are put in place now the Philippines
will continue to muddle its way through a global regime of soaring
food prices. He asserts that any well-meaning recommendations of
different groups during the one-day Food Summit should be integrated
into this ten-year plan.
Added Roxas: “A ten-year food security plan
must be done soup-to-nuts style, meaning from seed distribution to
market access and with social programs to help farmers in between
cycles. It must identify the number of driers that the DA will
purchase for our farmers per municipality to prevent spoilage and
wastage.
“It also must include a nationwide irrigation
plan and funds for R&D attuned to specific rice productivity
targets for the next ten years. It should include a detailed plan
for other non-agricultural food sectors as well.
“We must also consider the fiscal
sustainability factor as we are confronted with a humongous rice
import bill for the coming months alone. I reiterate my call on the
President to convene the LEDAC so we can reach a consensus on
interim and long-term solutions to the current food crisis and its
impact on our country’s fiscal and economic situation.
“As to public accountability, let’s start
with the government’s rice importation program. How much in
totality are our rice imports? When were they negotiated, for how
much per metric ton, and when will these rice imports actually
arrive in Manila?
“The release of such information is the best
assurance to our people that there will indeed be adequate supplies
of rice in the country for the coming months. I ask the DA and DBM
to present this bill of particulars to the people as a sign of
their commitment to transparency and accountability in the use of
agriculture funds.”
Incidentally, if the presidential aspirations of
Roxas bear glorious fruit in 2010 he will be in the best position to
make sure the 10-year plan he is suggesting now is successfully
steered through. But that, as they say, is another story!
rjottings@yahoo.com
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