"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Rice Security in the Phillippines, and IRRI
Rice is the staple food in the Philippines, as in other Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, it is normal for each of the three meals in one day to include rice and a viand (e.g. beef stew). Rice can easily fill one's stomach, thereby satisfying one's hunger. Rice is supposed to be cheap, but its cost increases when demand is high and supply is low. At times, the government resorted to providing rice subsidies to poorer citizens. Aside from the high cost of rice, the Philippines also struggles with having to partially rely on imports to sustain the citizens' rice necessities. Sometimes, despite these, the government claims there is really no rice shortage.
PROBLEM:
"The following is an article found in the International Rice Research Institute website describing the rice shortage problem that the Philippines has been facing (http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77478):
MANILA, 27 March 2008 (IRIN) - Like many poor Filipino families, Boyet and
Milagros Navarro and their five children get by on just over US$2 a
day. Boyet works as a welder in Baguio City on the northern island of
Luzon and his wife is a part-time farm helper.
[See IRIN's food crisis in-depth coverage]
According to the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the latest conducted by the country’s National Statistics Office, 68
million of the country's 90 million inhabitants live on or under US$2 a
day.
The same survey shows that for every $2.40 in daily earnings, more than a third goes towards food expenses, while the rest
is spent on medicine, clothing, education and other expenditures.
The Navarro family told IRIN they spend roughly US$1 a day on food, mostly
rice, vegetables, some fish and occasionally meat, and because of their
lean budget, they often skip a meal.
Hunger may become a regular fixture in their lives as rice prices continue to rise - this
year alone, the average price of rice has increased by up to 17 US
cents and Filipino families are bracing themselves for more
belt-tightening measures.
“No more fish and meat”
“We’re reduced to eating rice and vegetables. No more fish and meat,”
Milagros said. “My husband and I can survive on that, but what about the children?”
Already, the average retail price of rice is 72 US cents a kilo, from 60 US cents in 2007. And there is no sign that prices are going to stabilise
soon, as global prices continue to soar.
The Navarros’ dilemma is common to many other families in the Philippines.
On the southern part of Luzon, in the Albay province of Bicol region,
Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City said many families there could no
longer take regular meals because of high prices and the lack of
supplies.
“This is not a joke. At 30 pesos per kilo (72 US cents), numerous families suffer from starvation,” Rosal said.
The staple food for the majority of Filipinos, rice, is considered a
political commodity and the looming shortage and price increases could
spell trouble for the government, some critics have said.
“The government has been hounded by political uncertainty, from allegations
of graft and corruption, and a food crisis could stoke further unrest,”
said Rafael Mariano, chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
(KMP), a militant peasant group.
Social unrest looming?
Opposition senator Loren Legarda, chair of the senate economic affairs committee,
warned that a big surge in the staple’s price “is bound to spur social
unrest and political instability going forward”.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called on Vietnamese Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to guarantee some 1.5 million metric tons of
rice this year.
Arroyo has also approved a US$68.5 million incremental budget to boost rice production, according to agriculture
secretary Arthur Yap.
On 25 March, the president ordered a crackdown on rice hoarders, calling on Yap to ensure that cheap
government rice would reach those who needed it most.
Other measures are also being proposed to address the problem, including an
appeal to fast-food outlets throughout the country to offer
half-portions of rice to patrons to prevent wastage, with fast-food
owners agreeing to the proposal.
The social welfare and development department said it is preparing to issue rice coupons to
poor families to cushion the impact of increasing prices.
The National Food Authority (NFA), which sells subsidised rice in some
22,000 selected outlets nationwide, has downplayed a food crisis and
made assurances that there will be a steady supply of cheap rice in the
market.
Worldwide rice shortage
A worldwide rice shortage has also affected the prices of NFA subsidised rice, up from 38 to 41 US cents last year to 43 to 48 US cents a kilo this year.
NFA public information director Rez Estoperez said the adjustment was
necessary because the purchase price of imported rice had been
increasing steadily.
Estoperez said the NFA had also initiated a clampdown on outlets suspected to be colluding with private traders
to hoard rice and create an artificial shortage.
According to World Food Programme (WFP) country director Valerie Guarnieri, rising
rice prices are putting pressure on the agency’s budget and could
affect food assistance to about 1.1 million Filipinos in the
conflict-affected areas on the southern island of Mindanao.
“It is straining our budget. In the medium term, we may reach less people
as a result. As it is, we are already under funded,” Guarnieri said.
She estimates that WFP’s commodity cost has already swelled by 40 percent
since rice prices began this increase, and WFP is appealing for at
least US$500 million from donor countries to help fill the funding gap."
SOLUTION:
The following is an article about the solutions being done by the International Rice Research Institute, an international research organization connected with the CGIAR and World Bank (http://beta.irri.org/news/index.php/press-releases/the-philippines-...):
:
PROBLEM:
"The following is an article found in the International Rice Research Institute website describing the rice shortage problem that the Philippines has been facing (http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=77478):
PHILIPPINES: Rice shortage hits poor as government grapples for solution
 Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN  |
| A man sells rice in Minguindano Province, Mandanao Island in the southern Philippines, March 2008. Rice prices have surged to a 20-year high |
Milagros Navarro and their five children get by on just over US$2 a
day. Boyet works as a welder in Baguio City on the northern island of
Luzon and his wife is a part-time farm helper.
[See IRIN's food crisis in-depth coverage]
According to the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, the latest conducted by the country’s National Statistics Office, 68
million of the country's 90 million inhabitants live on or under US$2 a
day.
The same survey shows that for every $2.40 in daily earnings, more than a third goes towards food expenses, while the rest
is spent on medicine, clothing, education and other expenditures.
The Navarro family told IRIN they spend roughly US$1 a day on food, mostly
rice, vegetables, some fish and occasionally meat, and because of their
lean budget, they often skip a meal.
Hunger may become a regular fixture in their lives as rice prices continue to rise - this
year alone, the average price of rice has increased by up to 17 US
cents and Filipino families are bracing themselves for more
belt-tightening measures.
“No more fish and meat”
“We’re reduced to eating rice and vegetables. No more fish and meat,”
Milagros said. “My husband and I can survive on that, but what about the children?”
Already, the average retail price of rice is 72 US cents a kilo, from 60 US cents in 2007. And there is no sign that prices are going to stabilise
soon, as global prices continue to soar.
The Navarros’ dilemma is common to many other families in the Philippines.
On the southern part of Luzon, in the Albay province of Bicol region,
Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi City said many families there could no
longer take regular meals because of high prices and the lack of
supplies.
“This is not a joke. At 30 pesos per kilo (72 US cents), numerous families suffer from starvation,” Rosal said.
The staple food for the majority of Filipinos, rice, is considered a
political commodity and the looming shortage and price increases could
spell trouble for the government, some critics have said.
“The government has been hounded by political uncertainty, from allegations
of graft and corruption, and a food crisis could stoke further unrest,”
said Rafael Mariano, chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
(KMP), a militant peasant group.
Social unrest looming?
Opposition senator Loren Legarda, chair of the senate economic affairs committee,
warned that a big surge in the staple’s price “is bound to spur social
unrest and political instability going forward”.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called on Vietnamese Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to guarantee some 1.5 million metric tons of
rice this year.
Arroyo has also approved a US$68.5 million incremental budget to boost rice production, according to agriculture
secretary Arthur Yap.
On 25 March, the president ordered a crackdown on rice hoarders, calling on Yap to ensure that cheap
government rice would reach those who needed it most.
Other measures are also being proposed to address the problem, including an
appeal to fast-food outlets throughout the country to offer
half-portions of rice to patrons to prevent wastage, with fast-food
owners agreeing to the proposal.
The social welfare and development department said it is preparing to issue rice coupons to
poor families to cushion the impact of increasing prices.
The National Food Authority (NFA), which sells subsidised rice in some
22,000 selected outlets nationwide, has downplayed a food crisis and
made assurances that there will be a steady supply of cheap rice in the
market.
Worldwide rice shortage
 Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN  |
| A woman sells grilled fish in a market in the Bacacay municipality of
Albay Province in the Phillipines. Fish is the primary source of protein in the Filipino diet but is becoming increasingly unaffordable to the average citizen |
A worldwide rice shortage has also affected the prices of NFA subsidised rice, up from 38 to 41 US cents last year to 43 to 48 US cents a kilo this year.
NFA public information director Rez Estoperez said the adjustment was
necessary because the purchase price of imported rice had been
increasing steadily.
Estoperez said the NFA had also initiated a clampdown on outlets suspected to be colluding with private traders
to hoard rice and create an artificial shortage.
According to World Food Programme (WFP) country director Valerie Guarnieri, rising
rice prices are putting pressure on the agency’s budget and could
affect food assistance to about 1.1 million Filipinos in the
conflict-affected areas on the southern island of Mindanao.
“It is straining our budget. In the medium term, we may reach less people
as a result. As it is, we are already under funded,” Guarnieri said.
She estimates that WFP’s commodity cost has already swelled by 40 percent
since rice prices began this increase, and WFP is appealing for at
least US$500 million from donor countries to help fill the funding gap."
SOLUTION:
The following is an article about the solutions being done by the International Rice Research Institute, an international research organization connected with the CGIAR and World Bank (http://beta.irri.org/news/index.php/press-releases/the-philippines-...):
| "The Philippines triples it's rice yields |  |
 |
 |
| Friday, 19 February 2010 | |
| Los Baños, Philippines: In the last fifty years, the Philippines has more than tripled its rice yield, while the world average rice yield has increased only about 2.3 times. Despite being criticized as a poor rice producer because of its status as the world’s In 2009, Philippine rice yields were actually lower than the previous two years due to the damage done by the tropical storms "Ondoy" and "Pepeng". In 2007, Rice yields in the Philippines are also higher than those in Thailand, the world's biggest exporter of rice, where yields over the last few years have been around “The Philippines has enthusiastically taken up rice science technologies that have helped farmers dramatically increase their yields,” said Dr. William Padolina, “Filipino farmers have adopted more than 75 IRRI-bred high-yielding rice varieties since 1960, have greatly improved their fertilizer and pest management IRRI was established in the Philippines in 1960 following a hunt throughout Asia that identified Los Baños in Laguna as the most advantageous location for an “This year, IRRI is celebrating its 50th anniversary," said Dr Padolina. "During our 50 years we have established some important and productive partnerships with institutions such as the Philippine Rice Research Institute and the University of the Philippines Los Baños that share our goal to help alleviate poverty through improved rice production." According to estimates from the United States Department of Agriculture, the average world rice yield in 1960 was 1.84 tons per hectare and in 2009 it was forecast at 4.24 tons per hectare. Dr. Padolina acknowledges that the Philippines could improve its rice yields even more and said that he was confident that “the Philippines will continue “IRRI is also dedicated to delivering rice science innovations specifically suited to Philippine conditions that are of practical use and value to Filipino In May 2008, the Philippine Department of Agriculture and IRRI signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Accelerating Rice Production in the Philippines. Last year, IRRI released eight new rice varieties in the Philippines as well as Nutrient Manager for Rice, a Web-based tool that helps farmers make wise fertilizer decisions. Also, in the International Rice Genebank housed at IRRI, 4,670 rice References * United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization More information
Contact Sophie Clayton, IRRI: +63 2 580 5600 (local 2204), +63 917 552 6082 or s.clayton@cgiar.org |
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