Piñol, magsisilbi bilang food security adviser kay incoming NSA Clarita Carlos

NAPILI si dating  Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol para magsilbi bilang  food security adviser  kay incoming National Security Adviser (NSA) Clarita Carlos.

“Yes . Actually, si Secretary Clarita Carlos kaibigan kong matagal na. She was my consultant when I was DA Secretary,” ayon kay Piñol.

Ani  Piñol, sinang-ayunan niya si  Carlos na ang food security at dapat na ikonsidera bilang national security concern.

“Food security is an important component of national security,” anito.

Si Piñol  ay itinalaga bilang Agriculture secretary noong2017 subalit nagbitiw sa tungkulin noong 2019 matapos ang sinasabing “conflict” sa  economic team ng administrasyong Duterte.

Aniya, ang nagbabadyang  food crisis ay nararamdaman na ng mga mamamayang Filipino.

Sinabi pa nito na may banta sa food security dahil sa  limited volume ng rice exportation at mataas na presyo ng trigo ng mga bansang Thailand at Vietnam.

Ayon kay Piñol, “the Philippines was close to reaching rice self-sufficiency in 2017 but it was hindered by the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law, which allows more importation.”

“Nandoon na sana tayo, 2017, for the first time, sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, umani tayo ng mataas na ani, 19.28 million metric tons,”  dagdag na pahayag nito.

Ayon sa kanya, ang bansa ay mayroong kakapusan sa bigas na 700,000 metric tons noong 2017.

Ang bansa aniya ngayon ay umaangkat ng  3 million metric tons ng rice  para punan ang supply gap.

Dahil dito, inirekomenda ni Piñol  ang rice sufficiency strategy roadmap na nakatuon sa irigasyon, paggamit ng high quality hybrid at inbred seeds, fertilizers, at pagbuo ng “good price.”

Aniya, “half of the rice fields could be harvested only once a year due to lack of irrigation, which caused low national average yield per hectare.”

Bago pa umalis sa kanyang puwesto, na-organisa na ni Piñol ang P40-billion loan mula Israel  upang magtayo ng solar-powered irrigation system, kabilang na ang technical support, na maaaring sumakop sa 500,000 ektarya ng lupa.

“Anong nangyari? Nandoon, natutulog sa [National Economic and Development Authority – Investment Coordination Committee] yung offer ng Israel na P40 billion na pautuang,” ayon kay Piñol.

‘Building the project would only take three months, which he said is faster compared to the construction of traditional irrigation from dams,” aniya pa rin.

Ang bigas anoya ay dapat na mayroong “good pricing” dahil sa “profitability motivates productivity.” (Daris Jose)