Friday, June 27, 2008 Arroyo defends RP's importation of rice
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo maintained that there is a need for the Philippine government to import more rice despite the rising price of the grain in the world market and the country's ability to produce more rice.
Speaking before the Filipino community in the US, Arroyo said while Filipinos are among the most productive rice farmers in Asia with the country being 90 percent rice sufficient, the Philippines has a smaller land mass for rice production compared rice exporting countries like Vietnam, Thailand and China.
She also described the Philippines as a "rocky, densely populated archipelago" with few sources of fresh water, and frequently visited by typhoons making it difficult to ensure that the country becomes 100 percent rice sufficient.
Arroyo added that it was more "economically efficient and cheaper" to just rely on the world market for 10 percent of the country's needs rather than go for self-sufficiency.
"But the new economics of global food security which has tripled the (prices of) rice in the world now make it imperative that we control our own destiny in terms of rice," Arroyo said noting that the country is now aiming to be self-sufficient in rice within five years.
The President said despite the high costs that such goal demands, from the purchase and distribution of more farmlands to distribution of seeds, fertilizers and dryers, she is confident that the country is on its way with the help of Filipinos abroad through their remittances which boost the country's economy that enables the government to spend more on agriculture. (JMR/Sunnex)
