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Food security Marcos goal

March 16, 2022 Ryan Ponce Pacpaco 299 views

IN what could be one of his most comprehensive platforms of governance yet, presidential frontrunner former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that he would work for an elaborate and all-encompassing food production program for the country to attain what he describes as food sovereignty after winning the May 9 elections.

In a recent interview, Marcos said he and his running-mate Inday Sara Duterte are crafting an agricultural blueprint that would ensure every Filipino family would have food on the table when dining time comes.

He explained that the government’s program on addressing poverty and hunger should shift from what he termed as being import-centric in which we rely heavily on importation of food products to feed the people, to production-centric in which our food requirements will be free from the dictates of market forces.

“Kapag mapalakas natin ang ating agricultural sector, magkakaroon tayo ng food sufficiency at food security. At kapag sapat na ang food production natin at tayo na ang nagdidikta kung kailangan ba tayong mag-export ng ating produktong pagkain, masasabi natin na nakamtan na rin natin ang food sovereignty,” he pointed out.

He elaborated that it is important for the country to go beyond the so-called food security and food sufficiency which the current and previous leaderships had been trying to attain.

“Ang food sovereignty para sa amin ni Inday Sara ay iyong kalagayan ng ating bansa kung saan ang bawat Pilipino ay hindi na magugutom dahil may sapat na silang pagkain sa hapag-kainan,” he said.

“At hindi lamang basta hindi nagugutom kundi ang pagkaing kanilang inihahain sa mesa ay nagmula mismo sa ani ng ating sariling lupain, ‘di kaya ay huli mula sa ating mga karagatan o ‘di kaya naman ay nagmula sa ating mga pastulan,” he explained.

He highlighted that it is only through food sovereignty when our people can determine their own destiny as far as their food supply and requirements are concerned, and that our need will be not subjected anymore to market forces.

“’Pag may food sovereignty kasi ay puwede na tayong mag desisyon kung mag-aangkat at kailangan pa ba tayong umangkat ng produktong pagkain. Hindi tulad ngayon na talagang kailangan nating umangkat sapagkat wala naman talaga tayong sariling produksyon,” he pointed out.

“We must create a system that would allow Filipinos to reclaim power in the food supply chain. We are basically an agricultural country, so we have the resources and the land and the people to attain that food sovereignty,” he said.

“Kailangan lang talaga ang masusi at maayos na programa kasabay ng todong suporta ng pamahalaan sa ating mga magsasaka, livestock raisers at mga mangingisda,” he added.

Marcos recalled that one of the lessons learned from the Covid19 pandemic is that the country’s food production is insufficient because the development of the agricultural sector has been shelved for the past decades, that it could no longer keep up with the demand of the growing population. With Blessie Amor Vicente and Joanne Rosario (OJTs)

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