Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is calling on the government to invest in agriculture modernization and irrigation development in a bid to further improve the country’s food security amid steady population growth.

“Unless the government embarks on a comprehensive modernization program, it would be difficult for the country to achieve food security, especially that of rice,” Gatchalian said.

He emphasized that a steady increase in the country’s population makes it imperative to aim for increased productivity through the modernization of the farm sector, including the use of modern farm implements.

Gatchalian pointed out that the need for a whole-of-government approach, with local government units (LGU) playing a major role to achieve modernization, particularly in areas where financial support and cooperation are wanting.

“In the case of rice, which is the Philippines’ main staple food, the country needs to produce at least 98 percent of its rice requirement,” said Gatchalian.

“On the other hand, our population has increasingly swelled in comparison to rice production. As our population grows, so does our need for rice, and we should address that. However, currently, we can't catch up because our population is growing faster than our rice production,” he added.

The country’s population was estimated to have reached 112 million in 2023, based on the projected population growth rate using the 2020 census result, according to the Commission on Population and Development.

“Hindi natin matatakasan ang pangangailangan na gawing moderno ang pangkalahatang sektor ng agrikultura upang matugunan ang suplay ng pagkain kasunod ng lumolobo nating populasyon. Dahil dito, mapapaunlad din natin ang kabuhayan ng ating mga magsasaka (We cannot escape the need to modernize the entire agriculture sector to address the food supply amid the growing population. Because of this, we can improve the lives of our farmers),” he said.