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The American government will be willing to help the
Philippines in case the country faces a food crisis, US Ambassador
to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said Wednesday.
“We assured absolutely
[Agriculture] Secretary Arthur Yap to keep in touch with our
agriculture sector . . . We’ll make rice available for the
Philippines,” Kenney told reporters during the Araw ng Kagitingan
(Day of Valor) commemoration in Bataan province, north of Manila.
President Gloria Arroyo, speaking
at the same ceremony, said, “The global rise in the price of basic
commodities like fuel and rice is putting a strain on all
hardworking Filipinos.”
She pledged to ensure adequate
supply of the cereal, the Filipinos’ staple.
The US ambassador said she is
checking details of additional rice exports to the Philippines. But
she assured that “we are ready to make [the exports] available as
far as the Philippines is concerned.”
The US has enough rice supply and
helping the Philippines in times of need will further strengthen
“this great partnership” between the two countries, she added.
Besides extending assistance
though rice exports, Kenney said, the US government will also be
willing to conduct a joint innovative rice research with the
Philippines.
“We have a lot of great work
going on in the Philippines to create more nutritious, disease-free
rice. Yes, I am excited to be part of that and you could count on
us,” she said.
The US government already assists
the Philippine agricultural sector through the Public Law 480
program, a commodity-loan program under which Washington extends
loans to Manila in the form of farm commodities such as rice.
The commodities are then
monetized and are supposed to be used for improving the country’s
farm sector. The loans are payable at a longer period of time at
lower interest rate.
The Philippines’ National Food
Authority (NFA), the state-run grains trading agency under the
Department of Agriculture, conducts the bidding process for Public
Law 480 rice.
Manila, one of the world’s top
rice importers, has announced plans to import up to 2.7 million tons
this year even as prices soared to near-historical levels amid tight
global supplies.
Initial imports this year have
come from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.
The United States exported 4.6
million tons of rice in 2004, according to the latest available
figures provided by the Philippine-based International Rice Research
Institute (IRRI).
Analysts have warned major rice
importers that soaring prices could lead to social unrest and pose
security problems. The Philippine government has deployed police and
military to crack down on rice hoarders.
--Angelo S. Samonte And AFP
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