Nature has long been warning us about the devastating impact of disruptions to food supply. A decade after El Niño dried up rice lands in the Philippines, the country had to grapple with a crisis again in 2008. Restrictions, such as export bans, imposed by the country’s sources of imports due to drought and abnormal cold weather caused spikes in prices and made rice more expensive.
Five years after the rice price crisis, the province of Leyte was crippled by a supertyphoon that killed thousands of people in Tacloban City—Supertyphoon Yolanda’s “ground zero.” Food became a major concern not just in Tacloban City but also in the entire province as the monster typhoon also destroyed crops. Hundreds of residents waited for days before getting food aid as the devastation caused by Yolanda limited mobility in the province.
Now the country is facing another crisis—one that was not created by strong typhoons or earthquakes, but by a deadly virus. The speed with which Covid-19 could infect humans is now beginning to overwhelm not only the health-care systems of countries, but also their food supplies. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a blog that Covid-19 could reduce food production due to the lockdowns and restrictions on mobility (See, “Covid-19 pandemic threatens food security,” in the BusinessMirror, April 13, 2020).
The pandemic, which has limited the mobility of millions of people around the world, has rendered food supply chains vulnerable. The ban on public transportation to stop the spread of Covid-19, and producers falling ill or are afraid of contracting the disease, made it more difficult to bring food to urban areas. The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) has made urban areas, particularly the National Capital Region, even more difficult to reach for producers who are raring to dispose of their perishable products.
Urban areas in the Philippines are reliant on farmlands in the countryside for food and raw materials for factories. Despite the increasing frequency of natural disasters that devastate farmlands, there has been no major change in how goods are traded within the country. This coronavirus pandemic is reminding policy-makers and citizens that this must change if urban areas are to survive crippling outbreaks of infectious diseases.
After this pandemic, policy-makers must take the lead in promoting urban gardening by planting vegetables in idle government lands. The transformation of an idle camp land into a farm is a good first step and should inspire other agencies to do the same (See, “Soldiers transform idle camp land to farm lots for crop cultivation,” in the BusinessMirror, April 14, 2020). The national government must also partner with local governments to promote urban gardening.
Officials should institutionalize urban gardening and provide the necessary funds to entice many others to take up the cause. If possible, households must be encouraged to plant vegetables, such as tomatoes, by giving them free seeds and pots. This won’t necessarily wipe out hunger in Philippine cities, but in a crisis situation, such as the current pandemic, these crops could augment a household’s food supply.
The initiative would also allow the people to pay homage to farmers who played a critical role in ensuring stable food supply during this pandemic, and instill respect for workers in the agriculture sector. Young kids will learn the basics of growing their own food and even develop desirable character traits, such as patience. More important, urban gardening will focus the spotlight on the agriculture sector and might entice the youth to take up farming someday.
1 comment
pano po ipacancell ung unsuccessful bank enrollment dahil po nagupdate ng email adress ung employers email address wala na po access sa old email address which is don po nasent ung email confirmation para po sana sa bank enrollment salamat po