So far, I have discussed the first three dimensions of food security which are Accessibility, Food Utilization, and Food Availability. This article is the last on food security.
Food stability is achieved when the supply and demand of a particular good are met in the market. Prices increase when demand exceeds supply. This imbalance happens when production cannot catch up with demand. The government must create policies and programs to improve production or create liberal import policies to keep the price of commodities stable without compromising the growth of the local producers.
The Philippines’ food security concern is not isolated from the rest of the world. The challenge of maintaining a sufficient supply of food is being experienced regionally and globally by both progressive and developing countries.
According to Gabriela Camacho’s research paper, “Corruption and Food Security,” corruption can aggravate food insecurity by affecting food availability, like when households must pay bribes instead of using the money to buy food. At different points in the food value chain, there is the likelihood of corruption which worsens any food crisis. From production to processing, from storage to delivery, corruption diminishes supply and increases the value of goods.
Given the context in which the Philippine Food Security Program operates, one must bear in mind that food security is indeed a complex national and regional security concern. While we can measure the success and failure of any food security program by looking simply at how the four dimensions of food security are addressed by the government’s policies, we also need to understand how the insecurity drivers could influence the program’s outcome. Although this article discusses only one of the drivers for Food Stability, the objective is to be able to examine this issue from one angle to get ideas to address it and propose policy recommendations that might fill in some aspects of the policy gaps.
Closely related to food stability is price stability. The price stability of food commodities in the Philippines is determined by its food importation policy. To protect the local agricultural sector, the government imposed Quantitative Restrictions on basic commodities such as rice, sugar, and corn. In the Philippines, a price increase occurs when the supply of food commodities cannot match the increasing demand. In most cases, the inability to supply demand for food commodities is a result of poor production output. This inability could be resolved by getting supplies from other countries. However, due to importation restrictions, the supply gap continues to affect prices.
An example of this import restriction can be read in Section 23, No. 10 of the 1992 Magna Carta for Small Farmers:
“Importations shall not be allowed of agricultural products that are produced locally in sufficient quantity. Importation policies should include the protection of new and developing crops such as soybean, ramie, sorghum, and wheat. Importation policies shall be reviewed periodically by the Government in consultation with farmers’ organizations.”
Under the Price Act of 1992 (RA 7581), it is the policy of the state to always ensure the availability and accessibility of all basic and prime commodities. This includes the implementation of price controls or the curtailment of all illegal acts of price manipulation such as hoarding, profiteering, and cartels.
In the case of the price of rice, it was only in 2019 that the QR on rice importation was removed and private rice dealers could import rice more freely. But the QR on other agricultural commodities has remained in force until such time that the country will remove all its tariff barriers to give way to a fully free market economy. Thus, instability in other food commodities may still be an issue our leaders need to address and experience.
Given the four dimensions of food security — Accessibility, Food Utilization, Food Availability, and Food Security — I am optimistic that we will all do our share to help the government achieve its goal of providing us Filipinos with this basic security that is innate to our human existence.