‘FOOD INSECURITY’

EXPENSIVE STAPLE. Many locals are complaining about the high prices of rice. The staple could cost up to P64 per kilo, as shown by tags in this stall at the Iloilo Terminal Market. Prices of regular and well-milled rice started soaring in March. The following month, the National Food Authority announced they had zero buffer stocks. IAN PAUL CORDERO

ILOILO City – With the price of rice surging, consumers should try alternatives such as root crops, according to the National Nutrition Council (NNC). “Food insecurity” could result to “nutrition insecurity”, warned NNC regional nutrition program coordinator Nona Tad-y.

“For every increase in the price of rice, there is a corresponding decrease in the food consumption of households. We do not want that to happen,” said Tad-y.

There are substitutes to rice – a carbohydrates source – to ensure one’s nutrition, she stressed, such as root crops.

“In the absence of rice, they can form part of our diet,” said Tad-y, stressing the need to inform the public about these alternatives because some people do not know about them.

“We must increase the public’s level of appreciation on our root crops. Many of these that are unsold just rot in our markets,” she lamented.

Aside from the rising price of rice, Tad-y said, another factor bringing about food insecurity among households is dismal food production.

“There are areas that are not really suitable for rice production. If there is no food security there is nutrition insecurity. This is why we also promote vegetable gardening,” she said.

Backyard gardening of fruits and vegetables can help ensure food production and proper nutrition, Tad-y stressed.

Those who lack space may try vertical gardening, she added.

A vertical garden is a garden that grows upward (vertically) using a trellis or other support system, rather than on the ground (horizontally).

“There is always a season in a year nga ginakulang sang pagkaon ang aton pamilya. Pero indi ini rason para magutom kita because we have other alternatives,” said Tad-y.

The regional nutrition program coordinator also reminded the public not to waste food, especially rice.

“Sa pinggan naton damu bilin, ipanghaboy ta lang. Dira pa lang disiplinahon na naton ang aton kabataan, mga miyembero sang pamilya. Kada mumho is very important,” Tad-y emphasized.

An average of five cups of steamed rice is cooked daily for every Filipino but nine grams (around three tablespoons) of this is wasted, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

These morsels add up to more than 300,000 tons a year.

State-run Philippine Rice Research Institute and the Department of Agriculture called for a nationwide campaign to change Filipinos’ wasteful consumption patterns.

The Philippines, with a rapidly growing population now over 100 million people, uses rice as the staple food. It recent years it has become the world’s biggest importer of the grain. Imports peaked at 1.8 million tons in 2008 during a global shortage triggered by poor harvests and bad weather.

SOURCE: Panay News

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