Policy-makers have focused on rice production for decades due to the fact that it is the staple food of Filipinos. Among all the food crops consumed in the Philippines, rice tops the list. The annual per capita rice consumption of Filipinos is pegged at around 100 kilograms per year, which is why large tracts of land are devoted to the staple.
The bias for rice is evident in the annual budget of the Department of Agriculture as a huge chunk of the money goes to the rice sector. In recent years, the lion’s share of the budget for agriculture usually goes to the construction of new irrigation systems and rehabilitation of existing ones, as rice is a water-loving crop and many farmers in the country continue to rely on rainfall to irrigate their land. The country has more than 2 million rice farmers.
However, the inordinate focus on rice has effectively prevented other agricultural subsectors, which continue to play second fiddle to rice, from further increasing their GDP contribution. Other agricultural subsectors, such as livestock and poultry, had to make do with what little amount given to them to implement the necessary initiatives to boost their output. This oversight eventually led to the problems that are now hounding the local poultry and livestock subsectors and are posing a threat to the country’s food security.
Some quarters would argue that it was inevitable for the Philippines to be struck by transboundary animal diseases, given the fact that it is a net food importing country. However, investments in infrastructure and biosecurity systems would have mitigated the impact of transboundary animal diseases, such as African swine fever (ASF), on domestic meat supply. For one, strong border security should be the country’s first line of defense against these animal diseases.
ASF may have nearly crippled the hog industry of Asian countries, such as Vietnam and China, but it has spared countries with strong border protection, such as the United States and Australia. The US, for one, has never had a case of ASF given the strict animal health and import requirements enforced by the US Department of Agriculture. Washington is resolute in implementing its stringent requirements, as the entry of ASF would devastate the hog sector, considered one of the top US export earners.
The US is also able to keep hog diseases at bay as it produces enough pork for the requirements of its industries and individual consumers. It does not rely on other countries for its pork requirements, which practically insulates the US from the risk presented by shipments of chilled meat products, which could contain ASF.
We urge policy-makers to heed the advice of senators to put in place long-term solutions that will prevent ASF and other animal diseases from again wreaking havoc on the country’s domestic meat supply (See, “3.6% pork output dip seen on ASF disruption,” in the BusinessMirror, January 14, 2021).
We must now invest in much-needed surveillance systems and infrastructure, such as laboratories, and capacity building for personnel who will be put in charge of keeping animal diseases at bay.
Investments must also be made in initiatives that will expand the domestic supply of hogs and chicken.
We should have learned our lesson, and must never again allow the entry of transboundary animal diseases that can threaten the country’s food security.