Everybody has a valuable role to play in agriculture.

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Thus, said Cielito F. Habito, former socio-economic planning secretary and a professor from the Ateneo de Manila University during the first day of the 2021 National Food Security Summit (NFSS) organized by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

"The DA is moving in the right direction, but agriculture is too important to be left to the agency alone," he said, noting that the agency should steer and local governments must row.

“Farmers, bureaucrats, scientists, non-government workers, large and small entrepreneurs, bankers and financiers, traders, logistics providers and workers, as well as the general consumers, all have valuable roles to play,” Habito emphasized.

He further said that “food self-sufficiency is best pursued via meaningful and effective support for farmers to improve productivity and competitiveness.”

He noted that out of nine ASEAN countries, the Philippines ranked seventh with a food security scorecard of 73, beating only Cambodia and Laos as per the 2020 The Economist Global Food Security Index.

The concept of food security, Habito explained, involves a combination of food availability, affordability, quality and safety, and resilience against risks.

“A nation can be food self-sufficient yet food insecure; and can be food-secure even if not food self-sufficient," he added.

According to Ramon L. Clarete, dean of the University of the Philippines School of Economics, the Philippines should participate in the global food security trade.

He pointed out that a total of $249.7 million in potential export earnings, of which $148 million is for the US market, remain untapped by the Philippines.

Competition also plays a crucial role in trade, as he noted that traditional markets China, South Korea, and Japan have slowed down imports of Philippine agriculture products.