The production rate of the Philippines was discussed in the 2022 midyear economic briefing.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said the Rice Trade Liberalization (RTL) law had a role in the country's increased productivity and higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
Salceda told an economic briefing at theAteneo Center for Research and Development's (ACERD) 2022 that the RTL enhanced the country's supply of rice, generated a 0.3 percentage point improvement in per capita GDP growth because of productivity gains.
Studies showed that the per capita GDP rises by 2 percentage points for every 500 calories added to diets. Salceda noted that this shows that more calories raise GDP per capita.
“This means the RTL did not only have a positive effect on prices but also on human welfare in terms of the Human Development Index (HDI) because essentially, we can see our rice intake from 1,000 increases to 1,252. So, there was indeed increased per capita intake of rice after rice certification,” Salceda said in a Business Mirror report.
The solon claimed that this illustrated how essential food is to the growth of the country. Education was essential for economic growth, and education was essential for healthy nutrition, which is supported by a strong agriculture sector.
Stunting
He claimed that stunting is currently one of the country's highest issues. The previously released official data states one-third of Filipino children are stunted.
Children who are stunted do not simply grow shorter; their cognitive development is also stunted, which is bad for children.
Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito F. Habito warned that this might result in a demographic bomb where there is a large working force whose efficiency is limited due to malnutrition.
Salceda stressed that protein consumption is connected to brain growth. Students score better on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in nations where protein is more affordable.
He also said that learning poverty of 90.9 percent was estimated in 2019 and this could add to the post-pandemic learning losses.
Salceda estimates that after 40 years, the average lifetime productivity losses resulting from learning gaps brought by distant learning during a pandemic could be ₱10.75 trillion. The range of the estimate is ₱9.24 trillion at the low end and ₱12.27 trillion at the high end.
“It’s simple. If you don’t do anything with nutrition of our people before five years old, then something becomes perpetual. So really, if we must make any intervention we should start even at the prenatal,” Salceda said. “Agriculture affects our future, especially the employability of our labor force,” he added.
Salceda cited that to solve the country's agricultural problems, irrigation coverage should be increased so that the country looks into more micro-irrigation options that are more targeted, purposive irrigation.
To better manage the country's water resources, Salceda also supported the establishment of the Department of Water Resources. All departments and bureaus that are related to water will be grouped under the new department's proposed structure.
In order to better assist the corn, banana, livestock, and other high-output sectors, he said, it is necessary to establish universal tariff-funded sectoral support programs.
The solon also said by transferring development functions from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to the Department of Agriculture, the Sugar Industry Development Funds may be used more effectively.
In addition, he supports technology transfer; condone agrarian reform debts, and consolidated farms into units that could create economies of scale and the country’s low number of scientists.
Tags: #Salceda, #RTL, #SRA