Food policy out by October, say
MANILA -- Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced that the government would be coming out with its National Food Policy by October this year as part of its efforts to eradicate hunger in the country.
Nograles is also encouraging members of the National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL) to help the government in one of its key anti-poverty programs.
Speaking to NMYL members in Cebu on Tuesday, Nograles requested young public officials from all over the country “for your support for an urgent and most important initiative.”
“Last month, the President issued Executive Order 101 creating the InterAgency Task Force on Zero Hunger. This task force
will formulate a national food policy, to ensure the attainment of zero hunger and poverty eradication,” said Nograles, who was named chair of the Task Force.
The government, he said, is “working double time and hopefully we can come out with our National Food Policy before the year end––by the time we celebrate World Food Day this October.”
Nograles said one of the programs under the Task Force, which he referred to as “Task Force Goodbye Gutom,” is the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty program or EPAHP.
EPAHP is a convergence program that aims to increase farm productivity and the incomes of farmers, ensure food and nutrition security, and mitigate hunger and malnutrition in urban and rural communities.
One of the objectives of the program, said the former legislator from Davao, is to link “community-based organizations to the institutional feeding programs of the government to ensure that they have ready buyers for their produce.”
“Dito ko po kelangan ang tulong at suporta nyo, lalo na sa ating mga vice gov and vice mayor; tulungan nyo po kaming i-link ang ating mga local food suppliers sa mga programa ng gobyerno para sa Goodbye Gutom (I need your support on this, particularly our vice governors and vice mayors; help us to link our local food suppliers with our government program to end hunger),” Nograles said.