Going local: Maybe the way to become food secure is to think small
By Joseph L. Garcia, Senior Reporter
ACCORDING to the Second Quarter 2024 National Social Weather Survey by the Social Weather Stations, 17.6% of Filipino families experienced “involuntary hunger” (being hungry and not having anything to eat) at least once in the past three months. This is a rise of 3.4 percentage points in the hunger rate from 14.2% in the last survey in March this year.
The figure sounds dire, especially when one considers that it is the highest since the lockdowns of 2020, when the hunger rate in September was at 30.7%.
The solutions to hunger are complex for they will involve employment stability and a systemic overhaul, but one of them includes easy access to food. One of these solutions may be in our own backyard (literally).
Carlomagno Aguilar is the co-founder and Chief Farmer and Head Farm Consultant at FarmYields, Inc. FarmYields is a platform that matches local farmers with consumers, as well as a consultancy that offers farm development for idle land. Meanwhile, John Sherwin Felix is the one-man team behind Lokalpedia, a social media page that documents and archives local Filipino produce. Together, their work — farm-to-table supply chains and promoting heirloom produce — may aid in reducing the hunger rate.
FARM TO TABLE
Farm-to-table produce (it’s in the name: the produce comes to your plate directly from the farm, with little business and processing in between) has long been a pet of high-end restaurants, ensuring that those who can pay are assured of very fresh food. But it isn’t just fancy restaurants who can benefit from an arrangement like this.
Mr. Aguilar said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld, “When I started farming way back in 2010, I partnered with a sisig joint (not a high-end restaurant). I only grow hot peppers needed by the restaurant and I deliver their orders every morning. If every farmer can do this kind of arrangement, it will be beneficial for both farmers and consumers.”
Mr. Aguilar believes that farm-to-table supply chains can be applied to local communities that grow local vegetables. In his native Pampanga, farm-to-table practices are already utilized by eat-all-you-can restaurants that source vegetables like okra, eggplant, chilies, squash, and kangkong (swamp cabbage), among others, from nearby farmers. “If we identify communities and we get data on how much local vegetables they need, then farms can grow those crops only. It’s a matter of communication between farmers and consumers.”
By knowing exactly what and how much is needed, farmers can avoid growing bumper crops that they cannot sell or not enough so there is a shortage.
“Farm-to-table will only work if the market and the farmers communicate with each other. Farmers do not know what to grow in a specific season. They only grow what was dictated by byaheros (middlemen). The byaheros will then supply the seedlings, fertilizer and other inputs needed by the farmers,” he said. “If the Department of Agriculture (DA) has accurate data on what crop is needed on a specific month, then the farmers will have a guide on what to grow. If this happens, there will be no shortage and there will be stability of pricing.”
CLOSER TO FARMERS, DIVERSIFYING DIETS
Mr. Felix thinks that there’s also another information and communication gap that contributes to food insecurity issues. Having just landed from documentation trips in La Union and Palawan, Mr. Felix said in a Zoom interview with BusinessWorld, “Documenting our traditional ingredients and food helps (in) at least one of the many problems of food security by providing information that the public can use. You can’t protect and promote something that you do not know.”
For example, Mr. Felix’s area of expertise are indigenous crops and plants in the Philippines. He gives an example of trees or plants with food potential that are being cut down or destroyed because the public doesn’t know about them.
Mr. Felix believes that one of the reasons for food insecurity is monocropping; that is, planting the same, singular crop on the same land, year after year. This then leads to biodiversity loss, among other issues.
While there are many people we could point fingers at, one of the fingers points back at us, the consumer.
For example, a community that eats a lot of chicken will contribute to a rise in demand for poultry — the demand for poultry in turn will create demand for farmers to plant corn for feed. “Ikaw iyong nagdidikta ng kinu-cultivate nila (you dictate what they cultivate),” said Mr. Felix, speaking of the consumer. Monocropping might lead to fast cash for the farmer, but Mr. Felix says, the practice leads to vulnerability to crop disease and catastrophe damage (and long-term loss). Since consumer demand dictates supply, the onus for food security is not only in the hands of the farmers, but also on the plates of the consumer.
“I-diversify natin iyong diets natin (let’s diversify our diets),” said Mr. Felix. “At sa farmers naman, i-diversify rin nila iyong kanilang crops na tinatanim (and as for farmers, they should diversify the crops they plant).”
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
An infographic from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country imported 469.33 thousand metric tons of rice (amounting to $233.26 million) in January this year. The top supplier of rice — the Philippines’ staple food — is Vietnam, with an estimated $130.05 million worth of imports. According to a BusinessWorld story, the Philippines had imported 2.44 million metric tons of rice by July.
“Even with rice, we have more areas to grow rice — but many farmers choose not grow rice anymore due to its [lack of] profitability. They’d rather grow corn that is used for feeds because the selling price is higher compared to rice. That has been the clamor of farmers. If we buy their rice at a better price, the more farmers will grow rice and we will be more independent with our own produce,” said Mr. Aguilar.
Sounds easy, but Mr. Felix points out that farmers should be empowered first. “More than diversifying our consumption, I think we need to have closer relationships with the farmers; and we need to empower them,” he said. “Para makatulong talaga tayo sa farmers, sa kanila dapat binibigay iyong decision making (For us to really help the farmers, the decision making should be given to them).”
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), under the DA, has projects related to concerns of food security, namely in the issues tackled here: farm-to-table farming and heirloom produce. “The Bureau of Plant Industry, exercising the mandates to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds, advanced farming technologies, safety and integrity of plant food, and support to plant industry through proactive biosecurity, contributes to the protection of endemic farm-to-table sources as a measure to aid in attaining sustainability and food security,” they said.
The DA, collecting data from various connected agencies, was the primary respondent to BusinessWorld’s queries and requests for information, and sent these — including the BPI’s statement — through the office of its spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa.
According to the BPI’s letter, the Bureau conserves plant genetic resources (including endemic and indigenous crops), thereby securing access to sources of desirable traits for varietal development. There are also projects conducted to generate technologies to support crop production such as protective cultivation and urban farming, technologies adaptive to various conditions such as limited planting area and adverse climatic conditions. Additionally, research on sustainable pest management is being done to provide eco-friendly alternatives to reduce losses due to pests and diseases.
“BPI also provides certified organic vegetable seeds and vermicompost to support farmers and the public engaging in organic farming practices,” they said.
Aside from that, they also have training programs and provide technical assistance for farmers.
The Second Quarter 2024 National Social Weather Survey cited above showed that the experience of hunger was highest in Metro Manila, with 20% of the families surveyed reporting hunger. This does not have to be so.
The BPI told BusinessWorld, “There are indeed farming technologies that are actually out scaled through a project supported by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research. The project covered the urban and peri-urban areas, and this was a highly participatory approach wherein the beneficiaries were trained as trainers, and co-owned the project to perpetuate production of vegetables in their respective areas.” They added, “Urban farming makes it possible to reduce the carbon footprint of vegetables by making it available locally, with less damage incurred during handling and transport.”
FROM IDLE LAND TO FARM
Mr. Aguilar discussed the work of converting idle land to arable land. The first is doing a soil test. “It’s important to know the status of the soil in terms of organic matter, pH level and the presence of nutrients like phosphorus and potassium. It’s like getting laboratory tests for your body before a doctor can give you a diagnosis and prescription,” he said.
One should also check the farm’s elevation, to know which crops will be good to grow. “Are upland vegetables suitable or should you get a heat-resistant variety of seeds?,” he said. The distance between the farm and the market shouldn’t be too far, or else, it might affect the quality of the produce, he pointed out.
A new farm should also have a reliable water source, a good security system (“Pilferage is a big issue when harvesting,” he said), and farmers who know what to do. “It’s good to get farmers within the community to give employment to the community members as well. And the people around the community know better about the farm than anybody else,” he said.
Mr. Felix thinks that fixing the problems in the rural areas helps solve hunger in the cities. “Kung hindi okay iyong rural communities, hindi rin magiging okay iyong dito sa metro. Sila iyong big chunk of our food producers (if the people in the rural areas aren’t okay, then neither will we be okay in the metro. The people in the rural areas are a big chunk of our food producers).”
Asked if there is a crop that could be propagated nationwide to combat food insecurity, Mr. Felix said that the answer isn’t that simple. “The Philippines is an archipelago with different ecosystems, habitats, and even different preferences. To push a certain food sa ibang lugar na mahirap naman tumubo (in different places where they’re difficult to grow), I don’t think it’s feasible,” he said. “The best practice is to encourage cultivation of region-specific crops… the best practice is to promote what is local to the community.”
In a pinch, however, he suggests the binahian shrub. The Lokalpedia page says that the young shoots can be eaten “raw or cooked and are often added to various dishes such as tinola and munggo (chicken soup and mung bean soup) just like the common malunggay (moringa).” It can be propagated easily through cuttings, and can even be grown in pots.
THE PROBLEM OF GENTRIFICATION
Mr. Felix also discussed the question of the gentrification of heirloom produce: again, it’s a systemic issue, but fingers can again be pointed to middlemen and the market.
Crops are sold at a higher price, and sometimes rebranded in bigger, more expensive markets, and the difficulty of their procurement is sometimes used to inflate their prices.
“One of the best ways to avoid gentrification is to support our local and public markets,” he said. However, he warns against the privatization of public markets (under the guise of modernization). That drives up rent prices, and thus, food prices. “May pattern na talaga ng pagkamkam ng mga MSMEs and public spaces (there is really a pattern of grabbing MSMEs and public spaces).”
It seems that most of the concerns Mr. Felix raises can start to be solved by one of his statements: “Dapat maging informed consumer tayo. Dapat alam natin kung saan nanggagaling iyong pagkain (We should become informed consumers. We should know where food comes from).”
Solutions Mr. Aguilar says that can come from the government include the use of government-owned free lands (with proper documentation to prevent issues of squatting and land grabbing), market matching (the use of data to match farmers with what nearby consumers need), and mechanization.
“Proper mechanization will increase the productivity of farmers. That includes hand tractors, solar pumps, quality seeds, proper storage; logistics from farm to market,” he said. “I know this is too much, but it has been practiced in other countries where the government highly supports (their) farmers.”
Meanwhile, the Agriculture department told BusinessWorld that going big is the way to go.
The DA “believes (food security) is achievable with the right investments to implement effective strategies and achieve transformative growth. Over the past few decades, piecemeal investments in agriculture have prevented the realization of the country’s full agricultural potential. Fortunately, under the Marcos administration, a larger portion of the national budget has been allocated to agriculture and food security. For the country to be fully food secure, Philippine agriculture must undergo transformation. Food security encompasses more than just producing sufficient food; it also involves affordability, quality and safety, sustainability, and adaptation. Therefore, a multi-faceted approach is required, involving the government, the private sector, civil society, and all value chain actors.”
It has a four-year plan called “Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas” that aims to achieve food security by boosting agricultural production to ensure access to affordable and nutritious food; and develop the agriculture and fisheries sector into a profitable industry for farmers, fisherfolk, and all stakeholders involved in the value chain. These involve expanding agri-fishery areas for increased production, modernization, developing post-harvest systems and infrastructure, and strengthening research and development in the involved sectors.
“The DA recognizes that the path to becoming fully food secure is not easy, especially with challenges such as the negative effects of climate change and population growth. However, despite these challenges, the Department believes that through collective effort, the goal of food security can be achieved.”