A food security summit will be held soon to enhance efforts to ensure the country’s stable price and supply of food products.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque announced Wednesday that a "national food security plan" would be crafted during the planned summit to be led by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The proposed food summit comes on the heels of the limited supply of pork products that recently drove market prices higher. Authorities earlier reported that local pork production declined due to the onslaught of the African swine fever.
A price ceiling on certain pork and chicken products in Metro Manila has already been imposed for 60 days to prevent the further spike in food cost. More pork imports are also being considered by the government to boost domestic supply and stabilize prices.
"The Executive branch is calling for a Food Security Summit, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) as lead agency, to continue to boost and develop the agri-fishery sector through the cooperation, coordination and collaboration of the local government units (LGUs) and the private sector’s industry players and stakeholders,” Roque said in a statement Wednesday, Feb. 10.
"As part of the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s whole-of-government approach, the summit aims to develop a National Food Security Plan to achieve our vision of a food-secure and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk, and where consumers have continuous flow of food and producers have continuous productivity, unhampered movement of agricultural commodities, accessibility and price stability," he said.
Roque said mitigation measures on current issues affecting the agriculture sector such as the upsurge in the prices of pork, drop in farm gate prices of palay, the onslaught of the African Swine Flu (ASF) are expected to be discussed during the summit.
The models for agribusiness value-chain approach, local government unit-led agri-fishery extension system, and strengthening the role and capacities of local price coordinating councils and regional development councils will also be tackled, he added.
Roque did not yet disclose any date for holding the planned food security summit.