Around a billion people go to sleep hungry despite peasants producing enough food to feed 1.5 times our global population. This is the result of decades of corporate domination in the food systems supply chain, and not something that can be easily fixed by ‘innovations’ or ‘inclusivity’ defined by the same global elite that has extracted profits from a basic human need—food.

The Covid-19 pandemic both exposed the structural flaws of the global food systems and underscored the urgent need for a truly essential transformation.

We are yet again at a critical turning point in transforming food and worldwide.  It should not be just because the United Nations and intergovernmental processes decided to adopt a supposedly “food systems approach” in transforming the sector.

An unjust, inequitable, unhealthy and unsustainable food system brought about by global monopolies in agricultural production and trade, by decades of global land grabs and environmental devastation intended for profit, by unequal treaties and agreements like those under the WTO, by neoliberal reforms bankrolled by the IMF-WB, by national policies that perpetuate corporate and landlord control of land and agricultural trade, and proliferation of capitalist farms at the expense of smallholder producers and landless rural peoples. This is colonialism in action, with its laws and inherent contradictions underlying the anarchic and wasteful production and consumption of the world’s food.

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The extent and intensity of the current Covid-19 pandemic and the government actions at its heels have surfaced and exacerbated long-standing injustices and inequities in, and unsustainability of global monopoly capitalism, including in the food systems.

The upswell of those in chronic hunger, collapse of local food production, and surge in food price volatility and Covid-19 point to one thing:  the current neoliberal food system is not working for us, for our people, and for our planet.

We are at a conjunction—either we allow the perpetuation of such food systems or we rise up, we let our voices be heard and transform it.  For the deprived and famished, the choice is clear—the people are hungry for change.

CLIMATE CHANGE, POVERTY INCIDENCE, FOOD INSECURITY AND NUTRITION 

Climate change is among the most pronounced challenges that the Philippines is currently facing, and this will probably worsen in the coming years. The average surface temperature has risen rapidly over the decades. In 2019, the Philippines had an annual average change in surface temperature, which is thrice the rate recorded in 1990.

Households in the basic sectors are at the forefront of the impact of stresses related to climate events, and are most affected by the physical, social, economic and environmental impact of extreme weather disturbances. These impacts would drive these groups who are already in poverty into more challenging situations.

The prevalence of undernourishment is an estimate of the proportion of the population whose habitual food consumption is insufficient to provide the dietary energy levels that are required to maintain a normal active and healthy life.

In 2019, the projected growth rate was 7-8% but recorded just 6.1%. In 2020, the projected growth rate was 6.5-7.5%, but the lockdowns were of course very damaging. It registered a negative 9.6%.

At the 2021 budget briefings in Congress, the projected growth rate was again 6.5-7.5%. First semester growth is only at 3.7% and it looks like the original projection will again not be met.

There is a projection of 5.5% growth for 2022, but given the worsening pandemic, our question will be—will it materialize?

Also, isn’t it inaccurate to keep saying that economic growth was strong in pre-pandemic from 2016 to 2019 when the economy was in fact growing slower and slower in every year after: 7% in 2016, 6.9% in 2017, 6.3% in 2018, and 6.1% in 2019?

Naturally, as this slows down, a heavy impact is expected in the country’s food security

The Rapid Nutrition Assessment Survey (RNAS) provides a snapshot of the food security situation and nutrition perceptions of respondents of selected areas with high, medium and low risk of COVID-19 conducted from November 3 to December 3, 2020.

62.1% of the surveyed household experienced moderate or severe food insecurity. In all risk areas, the rate was reported to be above 50%.

Food availability and accessibility in forms of LGU – government – or private – induced donations, where seen to be impacted during the pandemic, regardless of location leading to increased rate of household experiencing food insecurity.

22.1% + 19.5% of the households have economic access-related concerns. As coping strategies, majority (i.e., 71.8% and 66.3%) have solutions that are also economic related. The findings suggest that the immediate impact of the COVID-19 related restrictions are on the livelihood and economic activities of the population. One (1) out of five (5) or 19.7% of the surveyed mothers perceived their children to be stunted. Higher proportion of weight loss among children belonging to severely food insecure household were observed.

One of the most striking impacts of rising temperatures is felt in agriculture.  Different crops grow best at quite specific temperatures and when those temperatures change, their productivity changes significantly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the disruption of food systems, impacting both the supply and demand of food. Public health interventions, especially social distancing measures and community quarantines, have posed significant logistical challenges, which hold up many food supply chains.  All these negatively impacts our food security and nutrition situation.

The productivity of rice, the staple food of more than one third of the world’s population, declines 10% with every 1⁰ C increase in temperature.  In the country, crop yields are expected to decline by 25 percent. Catches of main fish species are also expected to decline by 40 percent, according to Dr. Fernandez in the 5^th Farm Tourism Convention in 2017.

 

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?

We need to transform our world to one without hunger, without trading off our rights and our planet—towards just, equitable, healthy and sustainable food systems.

This transformation can only happen through the following. First, farmers must have the right to land and resources. Second, there must be community-led sustainability in food production, distribution, and consumption. Third, there should be the power of people and communities to assert and realize the right to food and produce food— this must be at the core of food and agriculture policies. Only then can people realize their right to adequate, safe, nutritious, and culturally-appropriate food, or what we aspire for as food for all.

We must reclaim our voices to demand food systems which put our fundamental rights above profit, our planet over corporations, and our sovereignty over monopolies.

The PSND presentation during the Food Systems Independent Dialogue is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19Kvf5azKV7M1iiSfbdjGRdmLArt6j-Mn/view?usp=sharing

REFERENCES:

1. Global People’s Summit on Food Systems – The people are hungry for change (foodsov.org)
2. HLPE Report # 12 – Nutrition and food systems (fao.org)
3. The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 (fao.org)
4. World Resources Institute | Making Big Ideas Happen (wri.org)
5. UNICEF–WHO–World Bank: Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates – 2020 edition interactive dashboard – UNICEF DATA
6. Food Systems Dashboard |Policy Support and Governance| Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (fao.org)
7. Philippines: Economy | Asian Development Bank (adb.org)
8. PowerPoint Presentation (dost.gov.ph)