State of the Onion
Published Jan 18, 2023 12:05 am
THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
DR. JUN YNARES
In January of 2008, there was a book written and published in the United States. The title of the book: “State of the Onion.”
The book, written by Julie Hyzy, won the prestigious Anthony Award for “Best Paperback Original” the following year. The Anthony Awards are a prestigious recognition given to the year’s best novels – mystery fiction, in particular.
In the Philippines, the “State of the Onion” is a mystery, but hardly fiction. It is one of the realities the country is facing today, and one that is so mysterious that we are all still trying to figure out what the real “State of the Onion” in the country is.
All we know is that, at this point, the price of “sibuyas” here is the most expensive in the world and that it is such in short supply. We can understand a shortage in fuel, water, or even rice.
But a shortage of onions is, for us, something that actually borders on fiction.
Last Friday, the government announced that it has now authorized the importation of onions.
We do not know if the move is a wise one. Like most of our countrymen who depend so much on onions to flavor both their entrees and their lives, we can only hope that the planned importation will happen soon, that it will bring down the price, and that it will result in an abundant supply of one the most important “pang-gisa” in this part of the world.
We also hope – and we are confident – that the leadership of the Department of Agriculture would come up with permanent solutions other than palliatives like importation.
Many observers have been quick to absolve the current leadership of the Agriculture department for this mess. We share that view, just as we underscored in a recent column that it is unfair to blame current Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista for the failure of the air transport monitoring system in January first.
The non-culpability of the present Agriculture department leadership is best explained by the president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc, (PCAFI), Danilo Fausto.
According to Fausto, the sad State of the Onion is due to the failure of the Agriculture department to “adequately project supply and demand for this commodity.” He noted that the government “failed to import so we are short of supply.”
He underscored, however, that there has been a change in the leadership of the Agriculture department following the May 2022 elections. “Maybe, the new leadership did not notice this,” Mr. Fausto explained.
Mr. Fausto offers more explanation about the onion shortage which led to the decision to import the commodity. In an interview with a business publication, he said:
“During Christmas season, the demand doubles, sometimes triples. That’s the time you have to really prepare and you prepare for it for a year. We did not import. Naturally, the supply is low and that is why the prices go up. There is no such thing as hoarding onions; if you keep onions in cold storage for long, you cannot sell it, simply because of the nature of the product.”
Mr. Fausto’s explanation somehow diminished the mystery surrounding the current State of the Onion. We hope the government’s move to remedy the shortage would prove to be a wise one.
Meanwhile, we hope that the leadership of the Agriculture department would also take a look at the longer-term challenge to the country’s food production.
The experience we had with onions (and more recently, with the prices of eggs) indicates that there are urgent matters that must be attended to and dealt with on the food production front.
In 2020, the World Bank had already called the Philippines’ attention to this concern. In a report, the World Bank said, “transforming Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth is essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.”
“Transforming the country’s farming and food systems is even more important during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure strong food value chains, affordable and nutritious food, and a vibrant rural economy,” the World Bank report said.
An international research organization, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also published a report with an alarming tone. According to the said report, “the Philippines is the most food-insecure country in emerging Asia due to its reliance on imported food to feed its expanding population.”
The study noted that most Asian countries are aggressively addressing issues that affect their respective food security concerns, including government policies. It pointed out that the Philippines is “doing the least” in this area.
“In emerging Asia, the Philippines’ situation is most worrisome,” the report underscored.
When onions disappeared from the local markets, we realized that its current state is, as the reports said, a cause for worry.
We await the decisive actions that the current administration will put in place to address this.
(For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)
DR. JUN YNARES
In January of 2008, there was a book written and published in the United States. The title of the book: “State of the Onion.”
The book, written by Julie Hyzy, won the prestigious Anthony Award for “Best Paperback Original” the following year. The Anthony Awards are a prestigious recognition given to the year’s best novels – mystery fiction, in particular.
In the Philippines, the “State of the Onion” is a mystery, but hardly fiction. It is one of the realities the country is facing today, and one that is so mysterious that we are all still trying to figure out what the real “State of the Onion” in the country is.
All we know is that, at this point, the price of “sibuyas” here is the most expensive in the world and that it is such in short supply. We can understand a shortage in fuel, water, or even rice.
But a shortage of onions is, for us, something that actually borders on fiction.
Last Friday, the government announced that it has now authorized the importation of onions.
We do not know if the move is a wise one. Like most of our countrymen who depend so much on onions to flavor both their entrees and their lives, we can only hope that the planned importation will happen soon, that it will bring down the price, and that it will result in an abundant supply of one the most important “pang-gisa” in this part of the world.
We also hope – and we are confident – that the leadership of the Department of Agriculture would come up with permanent solutions other than palliatives like importation.
Many observers have been quick to absolve the current leadership of the Agriculture department for this mess. We share that view, just as we underscored in a recent column that it is unfair to blame current Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista for the failure of the air transport monitoring system in January first.
The non-culpability of the present Agriculture department leadership is best explained by the president of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc, (PCAFI), Danilo Fausto.
According to Fausto, the sad State of the Onion is due to the failure of the Agriculture department to “adequately project supply and demand for this commodity.” He noted that the government “failed to import so we are short of supply.”
He underscored, however, that there has been a change in the leadership of the Agriculture department following the May 2022 elections. “Maybe, the new leadership did not notice this,” Mr. Fausto explained.
Mr. Fausto offers more explanation about the onion shortage which led to the decision to import the commodity. In an interview with a business publication, he said:
“During Christmas season, the demand doubles, sometimes triples. That’s the time you have to really prepare and you prepare for it for a year. We did not import. Naturally, the supply is low and that is why the prices go up. There is no such thing as hoarding onions; if you keep onions in cold storage for long, you cannot sell it, simply because of the nature of the product.”
Mr. Fausto’s explanation somehow diminished the mystery surrounding the current State of the Onion. We hope the government’s move to remedy the shortage would prove to be a wise one.
Meanwhile, we hope that the leadership of the Agriculture department would also take a look at the longer-term challenge to the country’s food production.
The experience we had with onions (and more recently, with the prices of eggs) indicates that there are urgent matters that must be attended to and dealt with on the food production front.
In 2020, the World Bank had already called the Philippines’ attention to this concern. In a report, the World Bank said, “transforming Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth is essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.”
“Transforming the country’s farming and food systems is even more important during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure strong food value chains, affordable and nutritious food, and a vibrant rural economy,” the World Bank report said.
An international research organization, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also published a report with an alarming tone. According to the said report, “the Philippines is the most food-insecure country in emerging Asia due to its reliance on imported food to feed its expanding population.”
The study noted that most Asian countries are aggressively addressing issues that affect their respective food security concerns, including government policies. It pointed out that the Philippines is “doing the least” in this area.
“In emerging Asia, the Philippines’ situation is most worrisome,” the report underscored.
When onions disappeared from the local markets, we realized that its current state is, as the reports said, a cause for worry.
We await the decisive actions that the current administration will put in place to address this.
(For feedback, please email it to [email protected] or send it to Block 6 Lot 10 Sta. Barbara 1 cor. Bradley St., Mission Hills Subd., Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Rizal.)