Food Security Agriculture & Aquaculture

According to a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report released in July 2020, the Philippines had the highest number of food-insecure people in Southeast Asia from 2017 to 2019, with approximately 59 million Filipinos experiencing moderate to severe lack of consistent access to food.

Food security means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

After more than two years of battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the health crisis continued to intensify job and income losses among many middle- and low-income Filipinos. At the beginning of the crisis, food-supply chains were disrupted by restrictions on the movement of goods and people.

These conditions contributed to food-price inflation, which was further affected by rising energy costs and international conflict.

Other factors affecting food security include the high cost of transporting products to markets, the presence of multiple middlemen, expensive farm inputs, insufficient irrigation facilities, limited farm-to-market roads, high rice prices, and inadequate access to modern farming technology.

These challenges highlight the urgent need to strengthen food security in both rural and urban communities.

The One Movement National Development Plan, 2023–2028, is a medium-term plan anchored on the six-point socioeconomic agenda. It supports the collective vision and mission of One Movement and its multi-sectoral groups in advancing national development.