By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT needs to address post-harvest losses in agriculture by encouraging investment in facilities that process produce on-site or as near to the production area as possible, as well as investing in upgrades to the cold chain, analysts and industry stakeholders said.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said: “There is a greater need to step up the harnessing of technology in terms of cold storage and processing facilities to at least prevent wastage in agriculture, especially if there is an excess from harvests when weather conditions are much more favorable,” he said in a Viber message.
Such investments will increase the likelihood that surpluses can be moved to areas suffering from shortages and to “prepare (for) seasons of the year when supplies are low,” he added.
“Processing facilities would also enable much longer shelf life for manufactured agricultural products that could also be sold locally as well as in export markets, by adopting global best practices in food processing technology.”
Mr. Ricafort said adding value to surplus vegetables “would result in higher demand and (increased) profit margins as well.”
Tons of surplus vegetables from various farms were reportedly dumped during the pandemic as farmers struggled to sell them or were cut off from their markets by quarantines.
Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Economist John Paolo R. Rivera said the ultimate goal of increased processing is to allow “people to have more immediate access to agricultural products at a cheaper price benefitting both farmers and consumers.”
Mr. Rivera said the government agencies concerned must also prioritize the “need to streamline the process of moving (agricultural) products, from farm to table, in the most efficient manner.”
“There is a need to look into how to deal with middlemen or intermediaries. There is a need to evaluate whether they are facilitating seamless transport or causing delays,” he said.
“While middlemen exist, there must be an assessment on how they can be an engine of efficient distribution,” he added.
Mr. Rivera also said local processing and distribution facilities must also be encouraged “to serve communities in proximity.”
“Wastage will also be minimized and the majority, if not all, can be fed,” he added.
According to a survey conducted by the Science and Technology department between Nov. 3 and Dec. 3, 62.1% families experienced moderate to severe food insecurity during the pandemic.
Of the 5,717 households involved in the survey, almost 72% were forced to borrow money to obtain food, while 66.3% asked for food from their relatives, neighbors, and friends.
The survey found that 56.3% of respondents reported having problems accessing food during the community quarantine period due to a lack of money (22.1%), limited public transportation (21.6%), loss of livelihood (19.5%), and limited food stores (10.8%). It added that 5.1% of the respondents were seniors who had no other family members to buy food for them.
The department said government services and benefits must be decentralized from cities and extended equitably to provinces with fewer resources to address food insecurity.
George T. Barcelon, chairman of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., said the government should also provide more common warehouses accessible to rural farms “to reduce transportation costs.”
Mr. Barcelon noted that “there are ongoing private initiatives to set up warehouses near the sources of produce.”
The warehouses established by the private sector currently “provide the washing and stacking facilitates to reduce spoilage,” he said in a Viber message. “This is linked up to e-commerce platforms for institutional buyers to coordinate their orders and deliveries.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Rivera of AIM said the government must also invest in technology that allows farmers to make their products more competitive.
He said empowering the agriculture sector, especially rice farmers, is urgent with the influx of agricultural imports following the lowering of some trade barriers.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently signed an executive order lowering the most-favored nation (MFN) tariff rates for rice to 35% for one year, putting the cost of importing from MFNs at par with the favorable rates charged on grain from Southeast Asia. The previous rate structure was 40% for rice within the minimum access volume quota and 50% for shipments beyond the quota.