This Plan takes the view that food security exists "when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" (FAO, 2002).
This goal will be further fleshed out with the release of the Food Staples Self-Sufficiency Roadmap (FSSR) 2011-2016. The FSSR aims to attain self-sufficiency in staples by focusing on irrigation and instituting reforms in the NFA.
For the sector to fulfill its role in reducing rural poverty and to achieve food security in the long term, increased incomes, productivity and production shall be prioritized. Increased investments and employment are to be fostered and ARBs transformed into profitable entrepreneurs.
Strategy 1.1 Raise productivity5 and incomes of agriculture and fishery-based households and enterprises.
Raising productivity and incomes is an important first step towards modernizing the sector. Productivity enhancements will make agriculture and fishery products more competitive, contributing to the growth of the other economic sectors. Chapter 3 on Competitive Industry and Services Sectors further reinforces the important linkage between the agriculture and non-agriculture sector, especially in the promotion of agribusiness and exports. The increased income of agriculture and fishery-based households and enterprises shall lead to the improvement of the quality of lives and capital accumulation for investments. Below are the measures that shall be taken to implement the above strategy:
a) Diversify production:
• Facilitate and promote diversification of production and livelihood options;
• Update SAFDZs as bases for identifying investment areas;
b) Complete the delineation of municipal waters for better fishery resource management;
c) Improve rural infrastructure and facilities:
• Establish climate-resilient agriculture infrastructure through enhanced technical design of irrigation and drainage systems and facilities, farm-to-market roads (FMRs), postharvest facilities (PHF), trading posts, among others;
• Provide irrigation services and facilities focusing on rehabilitation and restoration of national irrigation systems; maintain existing systems and establishment of small scale irrigation systems; enhance cost-sharing/ counterpart mechanisms for financing with LGUs; and adopt an integrated water resource management approach to ensure water supply;
• Increase the effectiveness6 and efficiency of the rural infrastructure system, including agricultural logistics and various facilities such as farm-to-market roads (FMR), postharvest and information systems (see also Chapter 5: Infrastructure Development); based on a master plan, identify priority FMR projects that strategically link production and consumption areas; and
• Tap private sector participation in the construction of the needed support infrastructure for the sector;
d) Develop markets and sharpen regulatory competence:
• Provide effective market assistance, marketing support and information systems, product development, market intelligence, and encourage participation in product promotion activities, both in the domestic and international markets;
• Provide trade facilitation, including provision of trade and fiscal incentives to encourage participation and investments from the private sector. This will, likewise, entail reforms and law enforcement of agriculture trade policies, and strengthen market access initiatives and technical assistance to SMEs and cooperatives, among others; and
• Sharpen regulatory competence through technical and legal training, improvements in laboratories and equipment, and alignment of domestic with internationally accepted standards, including those for organic inputs, food, and Halal certification;
e) Strengthen Research, Development and Extension (RD&E):
• Update databases and information systems for the formulation of a reliable and responsive National RD&E agenda;
• Increase investments in integrated RD&E programs that promote productivity enhancement, develop environment-friendly and efficient technologies throughout the value chain, in partnership with selected higher education institutions, LGUs, private and business sector;
• Harmonize all agricultural and fisheries mechanization programs and projects of all concerned national government agencies, LGUs, and higher education institutions;
• Rationalize and strengthen the extension system to improve complementation of national, local and private sector entities along the value chain in the provision of extension services;
• Expand and sustain the sector's human resource base (see also Chapter 8: Social Development); and
• Encourage the participation of farmers, fisherfolk and their organizations in research and promotion activities;
f) Improve the sector's credit access:
• Form stronger partnerships between government and private financial institutions;
• Strengthen the AFMA-mandated Agro-Industry Modernization Credit Financing Program (AMCFP);
• Implement capacity building programs to improve the credit-worthiness of farmers, fisherfolk and their organizations;
• Promote long-term financing for long-gestation crops such as coconut, rubber, oil palm, coffee, cacao and fruit trees similar to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand;
• Develop and pilot test innovative financing schemes that would target farmer and fisherfolk who have no collateral and credit track record; and
• Intensify information dissemination of credit, guarantee and insurance programs.
g) Secure food availability and affordability:
• Ensure the availability of food staples (rice, white corn, and other starchy food) at reasonable prices at all times;
• Focus on long-term productivity-enhancing measures for agriculture and fisheries such as irrigation, R&D and extension services instead of short-term interventions (i.e., direct input subsidies);
• Engage proactively with LGUs and the private sector to provide strategic agricultural infrastructure and services;
• Optimize productivity in mariculture parks and broaden the aquaculture base;
• Transform the NFA into an agency focused on addressing extreme shocks to food supply and prices, while maintaining a predictable regulatory environment for rice trade; and
• Management of consumption and diversification of staples.
Strategy 1.2. Increase investments and employment across an efficient value chain.
New investments are particularly important since the sector employs a large share of the labor force and accounts for a majority of the poor population. Making the sector competitive and modern, however, may render some workers redundant, as in the case of mechanization. For the released rural workers to find gainful employment in the industry and services sector, capital accumulation must rise sufficiently such as in agro-industries and agricultural services (e.g., marketing and logistics). In addition, complementary education and training can make rural workers more adaptable and flexible. Expanding the markets of agriculture and fishery products through value-adding and scaling-up of operations can also provide additional employment opportunities.
a) Create job opportunities by expanding existing markets, aggressively exploring new markets and promoting private investments on agro-industries, agri-services (i.e., custom-hiring), agro-forestry and fisheries, in both PPP and private sector-led modes;
b) Localize agricultural promotion and development in accord with the subsidiarity principle. Regional strategies must take precedence in championing local commodities and promoting sector competitiveness;
c) Promote more value-adding into products and develop the capacities of stakeholders for value-chain management;
d) Promote vertical and horizontal integration of input, production, and marketing (e.g., agro-industry clustering);
e) Strengthen the country's agricultural exports by focusing resources on high-value crops (fruits and vegetables, ornamentals, rubber, oil palm, coffee, coconut, etc.) and fishery products (e.g., grouper, seabass, seaweeds, etc.), where comparative advantage is high; and
f) Expand investments in aquaculture and other food production areas.
Strategy 1.3. Transform agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) into viable entrepreneurs.
The CARP intends to improve the living conditions and wellbeing of the ARBs, lifting them out of poverty and empowering them to improve their socioeconomic future. Awarded agricultural lands, the ARBs' basic input for their economic activities, must therefore be harnessed for this purpose, taking into consideration ecological sustainability and gender equality/equity. It is important to strengthen ARBs' capacities for agricultural production and transform them into entrepreneurs capable of improving the productivity of the awarded lands, adding substantial value to their produce, engaging in off-farm endeavors, and improving their access to the markets:
a) Achieve land tenure stability of the ARBs in the CARP-awarded lands, preferably through individual certificates of land ownership award (CLOA) or at least through collective CLOA;
b) Strengthen the organizational capacity of ARBs and ARB organizations to develop and manage agri-enterprises;
c) Scale-up microenterprises into formal and viable SMEs through the clustering of ARCs and establishing networks of enterprises;
d) Liberalize access to credit by ARBs;7
e) Provide enterprise-based legal support for ARBs and ARB organizations to strengthen their structures and mechanisms; and
f) Establish physical infrastructure (FMR, irrigation systems and postharvest facilities, among others) in strategic ARCs and clusters.
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5 Productivity refers to land, labor and capital.
6 Effectiveness refers to cost effectiveness, applicability in the area or suitability with the needs of end-users.
7 In compliance with Section 14 of Republic Act 9700