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Security plan 15 July 2008 |
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FOOD security was high
in the agenda of the second quarter full meeting of our Regional
Development Council or RDC for Central Visayas. As Cabinet Officer for Regional Development or CORD for Region 7, I was given more than ample time to brief the Council on our food and energy situation, as presently shaped by overarching global influences. After the briefing, and in a fashion typical of the hands-on management of our RDC Chair, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, the Council constituted the Central Visayas Inter-Agency Committee on Food Security, which is tasked with the formulation of a strategic Central Visayas Regional Food Security Plan. Having the strategic plan is key to the region’s capability to respond to and, hopefully, manage the impact of the volatilities in world food and oil prices. Oil has reached US$ 146 per barrel, a level unheard of and previously unthinkable. Food inflation in other countries has gone as high as 40 percent, or even higher, especially for grains and cereals. Oil prices have risen because of several factors. Among them is the increasing demand of developing countries such as China and India. In recent years, China’s oil consumption has risen by 8 percent, doubling in just a span of 10 years. Another major factor that is pushing oil prices is the decreasing production of oil in the global market. Oil production was down 0.62 million barrels per day from the 85.08 million barrels per day level in the third quarter of 2007. Moreover, speculation in the global market on supply and impending increases in oil prices has contributed to the oil price hike. In addition, the lingering weakness of the US dollar has pushed oil prices up. Lastly, instability in the Middle East, the major producer of oil in the world, has pushed the price of oil much higher. In the Philippines and elsewhere, food prices, including rice, have risen, which is also pushing overall inflation upwards. The price of export rice from major exporting countries, namely, Thailand, Vietnam, US, and Pakistan have more than doubled from October 2007 to May 2008. The price of Thai parboiled rice increased by 200 percent from $ 346 to $ 1,037 per ton; us long grain by 116 percent from $ 481 to $ 978; Vietnam rice by 218 percent from $ 324 to $ 1,030; and Pakistan rice by 153 percent from $ 314 to $ 793. This has pushed our food inflation up to 14.3 percent in May 2008 from 2.4 percent in May 2007. A major response to these crisis at the national government level is the reactivation of the Presidential Task Force on Energy Contingency (PTFEC) to come up with a strategic plan to cope with the unabated rise in oil prices. The RDC 7 InterAgency Committee can dovetail its activities with the PTFEC, at least on energy. The food security plan, on the other hand, will provide the basis for identifying and implementing programs, projects and activities which will ensure food supply in the region. This involves agriculture, food production and distribution. The Inter-Agency Committee is composed of the: Department of Agriculture (DA), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Information Authority (PIA) and, most importantly, representatives from the private sector. It was a full RDC agenda, and many other equally vital concerns were covered. But in food and energy security, Central Visayas RDC, under Governor Gwen Garcia, continues to show the way for the rest of the country. |
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