Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) — A fisherfolk’s group is demanding from the government a long-term and more sustainable program to support the strengthening of local food production, and not just the proposed food stamp program to address hunger in the country.
\”Our ailing rural sectors badly need direct economic subsidies, don’ t get us wrong,\” Ronnel Arambulo, national spokesperson of fishers group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA), said on Thursday.
\”But it would be more sustainable if the Marcos administration goes beyond band-aid solution, by implementing long-term holistic programs that aim to strengthen our local agri-fisheries production,\” he added.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday announced that the food stamp program called Walang Gutom 2027 is in the design stage, with the pilot set to be launched within the year.
The program aims to help one million Filipino families belonging to the lowest income bracket and \”food poor\” criteria.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said the value of production in agriculture and fisheries dropped by 0.1% in 2022 from a year earlier.
This is the third straight year of contraction in the country’s agriculture production.
A Social Weather Stations survey found that 9.8% or around 2.7 million families in March 2023 experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.
