Die IBON Foundation, ein renommierter unabhängiger Think Tank auf den Philippinen, sieht die Ernährungssicherheit nicht in erster Linie durch den Klimawandel gefährdet, sondern durch die von der WTO vorangetriebene neoliberale Agrarpolitik, die gerade auf den Philippinen bereits zu spürbaren Engpässen bei der Reisversorgung geführt habe.

Globalization, not global warming, is the bigger threat to the country's food security as the neoliberal restructuring of domestic agriculture has substantially undermined its capacity to produce food for local consumption. Nonetheless, the warning of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) of an impending shortage of food resources in the country due to global warming should highlight the urgency for policy makers to reverse the neoliberal policies on agriculture to prevent the worsening of the food security situation in the Philippines, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

The implementation of international trade pacts such as the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 has seriously weakened domestic food production and the Philippines has to rely on increasing importation to meet the people's food needs. In the 1995-2005 period, the country registered a net food trade deficit of $737.09 million per year from an annual surplus of $520.27 million in the previous ten-year period (1984-1994). The country's food imports grew by 44.07% between 1995 and 2005 while exports by 11.84% with the food trade balance increasing by a whopping 563.31 percent.

Alarmingly, among the most affected by neoliberal restructuring are staple crops including rice and corn. Between 1991 and 2002, the area of rice farms in the country fell by 86,606 hectares (has.) while corn farms fell by 298,064 has. due to massive land use and crop conversion to accommodate high value crops intended for the export market. The decline reversed the steady expansion in rice and corn areas in the previous decades.

With the anticipated food shortage as global warming intensifies, government is apparently in a very tight situation to ensure the food security of the country unless it corrects its mismanagement of domestic food production. Thus, ensuring food security amid the neoliberal offensive of globalization and threat of global warming should be among the top agenda of candidates seeking a seat in Congress.

Among the most urgent measures is a ban on land use and crop conversion, the re-imposition of import restrictions on food imports that directly compete with local produce to encourage and expand domestic food production, comprehensive and sustainable subsidy system for local food producers especially the small farmers, and genuine agrarian reform. Overall, the state-- not the so-called market forces-- must play a more proactive role in agriculture development and food production to put the country in a better
position to handle the actual impact of global warming on food security.


IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution
established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications,
information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.