Rosy 2009 SONA can’t hide hunger and poverty
Posted July 31, 2009 01:35:00(Mla Time)
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The most recent Social Weather Station survey, showing an increase in the number of Filipinos who experienced hunger (from 2.9 million families in the first quarter of 2009 to 3.7 million families in the second quarter), is the clearest indictment of the Arroyo presidency.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s rosy picture of the country in her 2009 State of the Nation Address cannot hide the fact that her administration has failed to deliver the most basic need of all—food. It shows that her economic fundamentals and specific economic policies are not working to the advantage of the most vulnerable sector of the population, the poorest, especially those in the rural areas where most of them live.
The Philippine economy urgently needs both short- and long-term reforms to reverse the current trend of hunger and poverty. These would entail strengthening local agriculture through a comprehensive support for small farmers, including the construction of new irrigation facilities, marketing assistance, input subsidies and credit. Likewise, access to cheap and quality food must be ensured through a more general food subsidy program.
Beyond these, however, the country’s trade and economic policy must be overhauled to give primacy to domestic food production over the needs of the international market. Agrarian reform and a sustainable agro-industrial development must be pursued to provide people with a steady source of incomes.
—ALICE RAYMUNDO,
coordinator,
Task Force Food Sovereignty,
87 Malakas St., Pinyahan,
Quezon City
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