Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. Photo courtesy of Kiko Pangilinan/Facebook.
With the prevailing energy crisis further impacting the country’s economy, Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan is urging Malacañan and the private sector to prepare for a possible ‘food shock’ amid the unabated oil price hikes that is adversely affecting agricultural and fisheries production.
In a statement, the veteran lawmaker disclosed that the global crisis is not only triggering inflation ang huge financial losses but agricultural problems as well that includes rising fertilizer costs threatening the country’s rice output
Pangilinan cited that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is currently affecting the supply and cost of farm inputs since 30 percent of the world’s urea fertilizer and 40 percent of ammonia—a raw material for fertilizer—pass through the vital waterway.
“We can face this crisis but we have to prepare. We will be able to get over this crisis but we have to be ready and that’s why we have this committee hearing,” he pointed out.
“The only way we can move forward is if we work together—the government and the private sector,” he added during a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform on the government’s readiness to address the crisis.
Pangilinan announced that he would be recommending the inclusion of private sector representation in the recently created Crisis Committee for Food Security.
He earlier said that the proposed ₱10 billion in financial aid is not enough since it would only benefit some four million farmers and about 400,000 fishermen.
“There are over 10 million farmers and 2.5 million fishermen, affected by the mounting economic pressures caused by the Middle East war, and the Department of Agriculture (DA) has (already) raised concerns over a potential sharp decline in the country’s rice production,” he stressed while warning that output could drop by 20 to 50 percent if urgent government intervention is not implemented.
Accordingly, the anticipated reduction is mainly due to the rising cost of fertilizer, which has been driven up by the conflict in the Middle East, and the price hikes significantly increased production costs for local farmers, threatening planting activities in the coming months.
In agreement, agriculture undersecretary Asis Perez raised concern over the vulnerability of crops scheduled for planting in May and June and he highlighted the critical issue of insufficient access to affordable agricultural inputs while emphasizing the urgent need for support to ensure that farmers are equipped with the necessary resources during the planting season.
“If no concrete solution is put in place, the decline in rice production will inevitably impact the projected 10 million metric tons of supply expected between August and September,” Perez warned.
Based on initial estimates from the DA, there is indication of a possible production loss of at least 20 percent, equivalent to around 2 million metric tons. However, in a worst-case scenario, losses could reach to as much as 50 percent, posing a serious threat to national food security.