news/updates
DOST: Biofuels did not bring about rice crisis
By Helen Flores
Philippine Star
April 25, 2008
Reacting to allegations that biofuels contributed to the rice crisis, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Estrella Alabastro said “this may be true in other countries” but not in the Philippines .
Alabastro said planting of biofuel crops like sweet sorghum and jatropha does not require the conversion of large tracts of previously agricultural land.
She said jatropha and other biofuel crops are being planted in marginal areas in the country.
Critics said the conversion of rice fields and other agricultural lands to biofuel crop plantation triggered the rice shortage.
DOST Undersecretary Graciano Yumul said the biofuels program in the country is not a question of food versus fuel.
“It can be food and fuel, because now and in the future, food and energy would always be part of human life. It should not be treated as competition but the two should complement each other,” Yumul said.
The Biofuels Act of 2006 mandates the blending of coco-biodiesel or coco methyl ester (CME) in all diesel fuel and bioethanol in gasoline sold across the country.
The law aims to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuel, and provide cheaper and more environment-friendly sources of fuel.
Alabastro also urged Filipino consumers to be more conscious of their nutrition and value other crops and staples from rice.
She said Filipinos are fortunate to have access to other crops that have higher nutritional value but are less expensive such as cassava, sweet potato, taro, potato, bean sprout, nami, saba banana, and white corn.
Alabastro cited studies made by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) which said higher food prices lead poor people to limit their food consumption and shift to even less-balanced diets, with harmful effects on health in the short and long term.
Dr. Jocelyn Eusebio, of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), maintained there is no rice shortage in the country.
“If ever there will be shortage, it will be an artificial shortage due to what the economists call ‘market distortions.' If such situation occurs, do we have alternatives? The answer is yes,” Eusebio told the news conference.
Malacañang, meanwhile, called for tighter controls in the distribution of government-subsidized rice in depressed communities amid reports of fake access cards and leakages in the sale of the staple.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo in separate statements said the government is determined to make sure that the cheaper variety of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) would reach the poor.
“What's important is cooperation as it is important that cheaper rice should reach the intended beneficiaries, that's why local executives and faith-based organizations are being asked to help distribute rice,” Bunye said.
Fajardo said local governments should investigate reports of diversion of NFA rice and file appropriate criminal charges.
In a related development, the President issued Administrative Order No. 225 directing government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), and government agencies to allocate five percent of their 2007 surplus for projects on rice, low-cost consumer and medicine outlets, PhilHealth cards, and microfinance in accordance with their charters and bylaws.
The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) was tasked by the President to oversee implementation of the order and check whether the poor actually benefit from the projects.
Critics led by San Juan Mayor Joseph Victor Ejercito blamed Malacañang for its failure to curb smuggling that led to the rice crisis in the country.
Ejercito said the unabated smuggling by “untouchables” in the government virtually killed the agricultural sector.
Root causes
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the government must now focus on giving adequate support to the agricultural sector.
CBCP president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said every Filipino consumer must also show support for farmers, whom he regarded as “stewards of the earth.”
“For so long a time these farmers have been neglected. And today we are reaping the fruit of that neglect: the present rice crisis,” he said.
On the other hand, militant farmers' group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) urged Congress to investigate several irregularities that led to the rice crisis.
The KMP called on Speaker Prospero Nograles to inhibit himself from the congressional investigation since he is also involved in the anomalies behind the multi-billion irrigation and fertilizer funds.
KMP spokesman Carl Ala said the government would have averted the present rice crisis had the P728-million fertilizer funds and the P3.1-billion irrigation funds been used to boost agricultural production.
The group noted the initiative of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago urging the Senate to conduct an inquiry into the root causes of the rice crisis, citing the statements made by Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) executive director Leocadio Sebastian claiming that rice production has been increasing but could not keep up with the growing population.
But Santiago contradicted herself last Tuesday when she said there was no need for the Senate to conduct a probe on the rice crisis as the problem went beyond the bounds of legislative inquiry.
“The rice problem is not merely national to the Philippines , or merely regional in Asia , but is a global problem because of population growth and climate change,” Santiago said.
Instead of pushing for the inquiry, Santiago said the Senate should speed up ratification of the Headquarters Agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which was passed on second reading yesterday. – With Perseus Echeminada, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Evelyn Macairan, Jose Rodel Clapano
