House Human Rights Committee Chairperson Benny Abante Jr. on World Food Day said that the additional P40 billion Congress has allocated to improve irrigation in the country will help boost the productivity of the agricultural sector and rein in rising food prices that make it more difficult for millions of Filipino families to eat three square meals a day.
“The right to food is recognized in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Unfortunately, recent developments show that many of our countrymen are denied this right,” Abante said.
World Food Day is commemorated annually on October 16 to mark the establishment of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945. The theme for this year is “Water is Life, water is food. Leave no one behind.”
The veteran legislator pointed out that the 2023 theme strikes a chord in the Philippines, where irrigation concerns have an impact on the country’s agricultural productivity.
“When farmers have limited access to reliable water sources, this leads to lower crop yields, food supply shortfalls, and, as a consequence, higher food prices.”
“When farmers have limited access to reliable water sources, this leads to lower crop yields, food supply shortfalls, and, as a consequence, higher food prices. We see this phenomenon here, particularly with the prices of rice, which even forced the government to institute price caps,” the seasoned lawmaker stressed.
The move of Congress to realign P40 billion to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to install solar-driven irrigation pumps and subsidize communal irrigation, he added, “is a step in the right direction––assuming the NIA uses these funds properly.”
“Babantayan natin ito to make sure that NIA maximizes the additional financial resources it now has.”
“Sabi ng NIA, these additional funds that Congress realigned for the agency’s 2024 budget can irrigate an additional 57,000 hectares of rice lands, which can in theory produce 570,000 metric tons more palay each year. Babantayan natin ito to make sure that NIA maximizes the additional financial resources it now has.” Abante stressed.
He was concerned that recent surveys indicate rising hunger, with data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealing that food inflation has risen to 10% in September 2023 from 8.2% the previous month.
“This year, according to the SWS, hunger has been steadily increasing, from 9.8% in the first quarter of 2023 to 10.4% in the second quarter. If the prices of food continue to surge, particularly food staples like rice, we may see a rise in hunger as well. Hopefully by augmenting the funds for irrigation, we can do something about this.”
