In 1973, just one year after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, as a young six (6) year old boy I remember lining up with my mother to buy government rice. The NFA we know now was then the National Grains Authority (NGA). The lines were long, the sun was intense, the air humid, my face and shirt soiled from sweat and dust, the wait seems to last forever, the people were grumbling and exhausted. It was miserable. To add to the unpleasant memory, when cooked you can taste the smell of old stale NGA rice; the stench lingers in your mouth and nostrils. We lived in Quezon City then, along Mayon St. very close to Welcome Rotunda. That was 1973, fast forward thirty-five years later, another familiar national rice crisis in 2008.
“Revisiting A 35-Year Old Problem”
MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2009
In 1973, just one year after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, as a young six (6) year old boy I remember lining up with my mother to buy government rice. The NFA we know now was then the National Grains Authority (NGA). The lines were long, the sun was intense, the air humid, my face and shirt soiled from sweat and dust, the wait seems to last forever, the people were grumbling and exhausted. It was miserable. To add to the unpleasant memory, when cooked you can taste the smell of old stale NGA rice; the stench lingers in your mouth and nostrils. We lived in Quezon City then, along Mayon St. very close to Welcome Rotunda. That was 1973, fast forward thirty-five years later, another familiar national rice crisis in 2008.
Rice shortages and spikes in prices is a recurring issue (except for some time starting from 1977 to 1978 as claimed under DA Sec. Arturo R Tanco Jr. with the Masagana 99 program). Severe droughts, natural calamities, inflation of commodity and energy prices, major currency depreciation and severe economic slowdown can trigger a rice crisis at any given time. The recent 2008 rice crisis is a sign of even worsening condition, habitual government failure even made more pronounced with a rapidly growing population. To stem the crisis, it cost the government billions paid to foreign suppliers for rice sold at subsidized prices.
Sadly, in the process of saving face for an administration unable to secure the most basic of food staples, there were widespread complaints that a significant chunk of the supply ended up in the hands of private profiteers. Many pro-poor sectors lamented that they were unable to buy or had very limited access to subsidized rice due to politically driven considerations and National Food Authority’s inefficient distribution schemes.
“Looking to Joseph of Egypt For Perspective”
To achieve long-term food security, we have to think out of the box.
Let us revisit the story of Joseph of Egypt, one to the twelve sons of Jacob. His jealous brothers sold him to slave traders on their way to Egypt. Falsely accused, Joseph was imprisoned where he demonstrated to his fellow inmates, in particular the Pharaoh’s cup bearer that he was able to interpret dreams with divine help.
We read that around that time, the Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream where seven (7) thin cows ate the other seven (7) fatted cows. In a second dream, seven (7) thin ears of corn ate the other seven (7) full ears of corn. The dreams distressed the ruler and he wanted to know what they meant.
After all the wise men and magicians in Pharaoh's court failed to interpret the disturbing dreams, the wine taster told Pharaoh that Joseph might be able to interpret the dreams. Again, with divine help Joseph interpreted the two dreams to be the same dream. The interpretation is that after seven years of plenty, seven years of famine will follow.
Unable to find anybody wiser than Joseph with the foresight to implement the storage program and prepare for the seven years of famine, the Pharaoh appointed Joseph to the to the second most powerful command in Egypt to undertake the food storage initiative. Joseph then proceeded to execute the storage program. He saved Egypt and his family from starvation when the seven years of famine came.
Let us fast forward to 2009. The administration has announced the government's planned increased spending to boost agricultural production. Assuming the funds for the FIELDS program is fully used as intended; it is the step in the right direction. However, as far as long-term food security is concerned, it is bound to fall short. There is no security in simply being able to have enough rice from one harvest to the next and a 120-day buffer.
In addition to FIELDS, what we need is a comprehensive food storage program. We need to empower the consumers to establish food security in their homes regardless of the continuing failure of the Dept. of Agriculture and the National Food Authority.
How do WE accomplish these? Yes, we are part of the solution. First, how do we get the people involved? Second, rice is perishable and susceptible to moisture, oxidation, rodents and storage issues. What is the solution? Is there a silver bullet? The answer is simple. Extend the shelf life of white rice.
“National Food Storage Build-Up: As If We Are Preparing For An Extended Three-Year War, Even If We Do Not Anticipate A War”
We need to approach solutions to long-term food security, with the same vision that Joseph of Egypt had. Not necessarily preparing for a seven-year famine, but we need to be ready for extended natural, man made economic and political disruptions.
In 2005, we had an American family friend that was taking back his family to the US after a two-year assignment here. He wanted to leave his food storage that his family has accumulated over the years. They it brought over when they first moved to the country.
His stockpile consisted of gallon size canned grains, cereal, peanut butter, wheat, powdered scramble eggs, beans, powdered milk, etc. The can of peanut butter was dry like powder, once opened that’s when you need to mix in the oil to make peanut butter.
One of the canned items caught my undivided attention. It was canned uncooked white rice. Even more surprising to me at that time was reading that they canned those in 1990, some 15 years prior. He gave the canned items to some friends. When cooked the recipient said the rice was good or even better than the rice that they buy from the store.
Imagine that, high quality 15-year old rice. Actually canned white rice can be stored for up to 30+ years.
With the experience, it occurred to me since then that any family, community, region, or country can achieve food security with a well-planned food storage program built-up over time. Families with significant food storage are better able to deal with family crises such as job loss, death of the main wage earner, food shortages, temporary price inflation, trade embargo, natural calamities and God forbid acts of war.
“Public, Private and Government Joint Effort”
Implementation has to be a joint effort but the bulk of the storage has to be at the family level, in the individual homes. The different stakeholders including the farmers, NFA, NGO, traders, community groups, religious organizations, and individual families will have to be involved in the canning and storage at different levels and scale, as they deem appropriate. The effort should be a sustained ongoing process in the years to come.
For example, if a family can set aside a gallon of canned rice each week, their home rice storage would look like this in 5 years:
Year 1 = 52 gallons - 156 kls. - 3 sacks @ 50 kls. each
Year 2 = 104 gallons - 312 kls. - 6 sacks
Year 3 = 156 gallons - 468 kls. - 9 sacks
Year 4 = 208 gallons - 624 kls. - 12 sacks
Year 5 = 260 gallons - 780 kls. - 15 sacks
Knowing that there is food for the family, a mother can feel some level of security during unforeseen temporary or prolonged times of difficulty.
“Use Local & Imported Rice To Accelerate Storage Build-Up”
The sourcing of rice for canning and storage would come from local production and importation while we are still able to buy rice from foreign sources. After all, the Philippines had been a net-rice importer for the past 20 years. Farmer cooperatives have been asking the government to buy rice at P19 per kilo. If farmers start canning a portion of their own produce, they can sell rice at a premium directly to the consumers for storage purposes as a value added product.
Having identified a path to long term food security for rice, this serves as a take off point to include other staples and basic daily food items.
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