AVOIDING

 A  FOOD  CRISIS
by  Senator  Edgardo  J.  Angara

Thursday, March 10, 2011 1

 FAO  Food  Price  Index
• FAO’s  Food  Price  
Index  rose  for  the  8th  
consecu6ve  month.

• It  is  at  its  highest  

level  since  the  index  
was  first  tracked  in  
1990

Thursday, March 10, 2011 2

 Global  Prices  of  Key  Food  Commodi6es
World  Bank’s  
Food  Price  
Index  rose  by  
15%  between  
October  2010  
to  January  
2011.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 3

 Tugegarao

Cabanatuan
Local  rice  prices  
increased  in  
some  key  areas,  
Tacloban
including  Cebu  
Cebu
&  Davao

Zamboanga Davao

Cotabato

Thursday, March 10, 2011 4

 CLIMATE  CHANGE
A LEADING CULPRIT

Thursday, March 10, 2011 5

 Wildfires in Russia
July-August, 2010

20%
of Russia’s wheat harvest
wiped out due to
widespread drought &
wildfires
RUSSIA

Thursday, March 10, 2011 6

 Damaged wheat in Canada
July 2010

25%
of Canada’s wheat
production rate of
decrease due to
unexpected
excessive rainfall
CANADA

Thursday, March 10, 2011 7

 Floods in Australia
January 2011

50%
drop on Australia’s wheat
harvest due to
unprecedented floods

AUSTRALIA

Thursday, March 10, 2011 8

 Dust Storms & Winter Drought in
the North China Plain
March 2010

1.3B
Chinese population who
need imported grain after
dust storms and winter
drought destroyed wheat
harvest
CHINA

Thursday, March 10, 2011 9

 Floods in Nashville
Tennessee, USA
May 2010

BusinessWeek
Jan 20, 2011

USA
Harvest of the U.S. and
Argentina, the world’s top
wheat producers, are
predicted to fall below
expectations
Argentina
Thursday, March 10, 2011 10
 Floods in Thailand
October 2010

7%
decrease in Rice output
from Thailand, the world’s
top rice exporter

THAILAND

Thursday, March 10, 2011 11

      FUEL
FOOD  _  

Thursday, March 10, 2011 12

 e p o r t :
2007 R

Oil  Price Farm  gate  price

$100 = 3% to13%
Per barrel

Thursday, March 10, 2011 13

 pe r B a r r e l
il P r ic e
Crude O

Middle  East Dubai

$105.02 $110.63
As of March 8, 2011 As of March 7, 2011

Thursday, March 10, 2011 14

 s week
Thi

Price  increase  at  gas  sta6ons  locally

Fuel Increase
Gasoline P  4.75
Diesel P  4.25
Kerosene P  4.75

Thursday, March 10, 2011 15

 e s t f o r
Harv
o r f u e l?
food

Food  into  fuel  to  

…or  food  to  eat?
lower  oil  prices
Thursday, March 10, 2011 16
 Dangers of inaction

Thursday, March 10, 2011 17

 The experience of Egypt and Tunisia,
where high food prices resulted to
ouster of their presidents, provides us
valuable lessons.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 18

 LESSON:
Inaction is a dangerous choice.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 19

 We have yet to see the
current administration craft a
coherent plan that will
ensure the sufficiency of our
food supply and the stability
of food prices.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 20

 ing AGRICULTURE

Thursday, March 10, 2011 21

 Of,icial  development  
assistance  to  agriculture
• This  has  
1979 2007 contributed  to  a  
sharp  increase  in  

17% 5.5% global  hunger.

“the  developing  world  needs  to  

double  food  producAon  by  2050  
to  feed  its  growing  populaAon”

Thursday, March 10, 2011 22

 Annual  Budget  for  
Agriculture
Ideal  for  the   PHL’s
developing  world  2011  Budget

$200  B P  66  B

Thursday, March 10, 2011 23

 We badly need a
NEW GREEN REVOLUTION!

Thursday, March 10, 2011 24

 We  must  consistently  increase  
investment  in  agriculture:

1 Support for infrastructure, good

irrigation and post harvest network.

2 Modernize , harness innovations to

improve production.

3 R&D focused on more efficient

breeding and best farming
practices.
Thursday, March 10, 2011 25
 Lastly…

4 Resilience to climate
change.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 26

 The coming food crisis
could be mere snippets of
global food insecurity in
the next 30, 40 years,
unless we take decisive
action on agriculture and
the environment now.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 27

 Let us not wait for
Filipinos to take the
streets before we do
something.

Thursday, March 10, 2011 28

 Thank  you

Thursday, March 10, 2011 29