Food security vs food self-sufficiency

HAVE gone over the 2016 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) and I was no longer sur by TheEconomistIntelligence Unit, the report ranks countries based on how they are secure when it comes to supplying food

The capacity to produce food was not the only factor taken into account, because other equally important considerations like the general population’s being able to afford food, facilities to store, process and transport food for better accessibility, as welll as nutrition and dietary standards, were also

And guess what country was the most food secure nation in Asia? Those who equate food se will likely think countries like China, Thailand or even Vietnam are the most food secure countries in Asia because they produce enough rice at a lower cost

But the most food secure country in Asia is Singapore, which is come to think of it—Singapore imports more than 90 percent of its food needs because it does not have area to grow crops or raise

Japan was the second most food secure nation in Asia or tied While Japan’s rice production area continued to shrink due to industrialization, it was able to compensate thru sustained investments in

Among other Asian nations, tied with Romania, while Thai

Looking at the report, it is obvious being food secure does not equate to having enough local production of a certain staple for a the case, Thailand and Vietnam would be ranked among the top nations because they can produce more than enough rice for their

So there lies the crux of the matter—food security or being food secure is not the same as being

to produce enough rice to feed

Going over the report, let me quote two excerpts that will give readers of this column a better insight on the importance of

In a section on “Quality and a much higher score, thanks to the government’s program in improving access to potable water supply, imposing higher tax on carbon is a form of malnutrition, and providing school-based feeding program and educating the young

On the aspect of availability, a food secure nation must be able supply but its ease of accessibil infrastructure investments, sizable public spending on research and development to produce climate- resilient crops and to avoid environmental degrada category given its high agricultural investments in R& D over

Stated in the “Key Findings” section, this statement is even more compelling: “Developing economies that prioritize investment in agricultural storage and transport infrastructure increase their capacity to ensure food security for burgeon

- vest losses in vegetables range from 15 to 25 percent because of the lack of cold storage facilities and trucks by both traders and harvest losses can reach up to

When it comes to rice, the government through the National Food Authority can only July 2016 Rice and Corn Inven - - Rice stored in private hands can

Worse, the present road networks are still inadequate to link food production centers to major urban markets, thus causing high spoilage and rejects due that eventually result to higher

The business of transporting must be balanced, with government providing strategic investments for the common good vis-à-vis private sector’s must be given their fair share and operationalize a win-win marketing arrangements, starting with transparent farm-gate up extremely poor, they hardly have enough money to eat three meals a day or secure a

The report concluded that the quest to improve food security requires economic growth as an countries are developed and income increases, the food system and institutional infrastructure are built and, food security growth provides the impetus to raise farmers’ income and “improve their ability to gain access to food, health and education while providing governments with the cash needed to make

I am not saying that the country abandon its rice self offer viable alternatives to help our poor farmers increase their incomes, giving them the purchasing power to afford and access quality and nutritious food, crops that have revenue potential—such as palm oil, rubber, cacao, coffee, mangoes, pineapple, soybean, and cassava must be pursued with a clear roadmap That way, farmers do not equate farming as a subsistence but is

- curity? The answer maybe lies on a policy shift, instead of targetting the entire population, focus must be given to the Agricultural investments to bring new technologies to improve planting and processing climate-resilient crops which gives a high source of protein such as millet, chick pea, peanuts must be encour and accessible healthy foods to deter malnutrition that will somewhat avoid the crowdingout on health and education budgets, the country’s political