It has been more than a month since the island of Luzon was placed in enhanced community quarantine. In order to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures were implemented; travel restrictions were put in place; and curfew hours were applied. Food security has been one of the primary challenges of the government in its battle against the virus. Ensuring adequate and affordable food supply during a period of decreased economic activity will be a key element in its crisis response. Under Resolution No. 15 of the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force on the coronavirus pandemic, farmers and fisherfolks are recognized as part of the essential sector tasked to keep the country’s food supply going. But they are facing a myriad of problems and the crisis has exacerbated already existing inequalities that they are experiencing.
The quarantine measures have affected the ability of farmers and fisherfolks to sell their products, even though the government has ensured unhampered distribution of their products. Farmers in the Mountain Province had to throw their harvest as no buyers were able to procure them. Lockdown measures have also limited their ability to tend to their farms due to the limited time period and the low price of palay has continued to worsen due to the pandemic and the Rice Tariffication Law. Fisherfolks within the National Capital Region, particularly in Navotas, Las Piñas, and Malabon, have reported a variety of issues—from inconsistency between local government units in allowing them to fish, to regulations which they deem as an additional economic burden to them during these trying times. They are experiencing physical, mental, and economical disability, particularly the women fishers in the communities who have the primary task of ensuring food security and safety of the family. Both sectors have also called for faster access to the social amelioration packages of the government as well as sector-specific stimulus, such as the Survival and Recovery Assistance Program for Marginalized, Small Farmers and Fishers (SURE-Aid) from the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The Food and Agriculture Organization has said that “providing adequate social protection support to small scale vulnerable farmers, fisherfolk, and those involved along food chains is of key importance during and after this crisis to avoid any food shortages and disruptions that might be triggered by logistical hurdles, labor shortages and panic buying.” We commend the government for responding to the needs of vulnerable sectors for income support by providing financial assistance and social amelioration packages. But it must ensure that these social protection schemes are adequate and accessible to the agricultural sector. We call on the government to strengthen the policies which allow farmers and fisherfolk to continue farming during the enhanced community quarantine. All local government units should allow the sector’s access to their farms and municipal waters and allow unhampered access to distribution of their products. The government, both national and local, should also consider buying the harvest, particularly of small-scale farmers and fisherfolk, to be used for the relief operations and mobile markets not only in rural, but urban communities as well. The DA can also create mechanisms to guarantee that the farmers and fisherfolk get to sell their products at equitable prices and not resort to selling them below market value.
The President has said that the government has not forgotten our farmers and fisherfolk and “is now employing quick response measures to help them during the crisis, as well as ensure food productivity, availability and sustainability during the period of the pandemic.” It is paramount that the concerned national agencies take this statement to heart, and make sure that appropriate measures are carried out not only to guarantee that food shortages do not happen, but to ensure that the vulnerable sector who produce the food is likewise protected. ###