The rising hunger rate and the urgent need for the Food Security Act
In the latest Social Weather Stations survey conducted from March 15 to 25, 2025, 27.2 percent of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger—meaning they were hungry and had nothing to eat—at least once in the past three months. This is the highest rate recorded since September 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The rising hunger rate is a wake-up call. Addressing food insecurity requires urgent, coordinated, and sustained action to ensure that every Filipino family has access to safe and nutritious food. An urgent action is the enactment of the Food Security Act.
At its core, the law should reinforce the state’s obligation to achieve sustainable national food security through strategic policies, productive investments, and equitable access to livelihoods in the agricultural sector. It calls for a long-term master plan to mitigate climate-related risks, secure food reserves, and safeguard vulnerable populations. The master plan should systematically map the different food production areas, assess risks and opportunities, and pursue local interventions in consultation with stakeholders.
The act should focus on empowering smallholder farmers by converging smart technology, infrastructure, credit access, and related support in clustered farms. It must mobilize local government units (LGUs) and private sector collaboration to institutionalize localized food security programs in tandem with the Department of Agriculture. It should aim to prevent food monopolies, maintain stable food stocks, and provide timely intervention during calamities and emergencies.
Most importantly, the act should emphasize that food must never be used as a tool for political or economic oppression. The government must uphold human rights, gender equality, and social justice to ensure that no Filipino goes hungry.
Food security has long been a national aspiration, especially in ensuring self-sufficiency in rice—the lifeblood of Filipinos. Since the inception of Masagana 99 in the ‘70s, which briefly made the country self-sufficient in rice, successive programs have aimed at achieving the same goal. Yet, despite these efforts, millions of Filipino families still struggle with food insecurity. Despite being home to prestigious agricultural research institutions and a wealth of scientific expertise, the Philippines continues to be the world’s largest rice importer. It is a paradox we must confront head-on.
Climate change, soaring food prices, energy crisis, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and population growth threaten global agriculture. Water scarcity, drought, extreme temperatures, evolving pests and diseases, and degraded farmlands make food production increasingly difficult—especially in rain-fed and upland areas.
Poverty is the root cause of food insecurity and improving livelihoods, particularly in rural communities, is the key to sustainable access to food. National food security must be pursued through equitable development, ensuring that farmers are empowered and consumers are protected.
Smallholder farmers and their communities must be given the tools, resources, and contingency systems to withstand environmental and economic shocks. They must be equipped to navigate natural calamities, secure their livelihoods, and meet emergency food and seed needs.
The future of the Philippines depends on a bold and decisive commitment to food security and sovereignty—one that safeguards our present and future generations. The enactment of the Food Security Act should be a flagship policy initiative to secure a future where food is abundant, available, and accessible to all Filipinos.
Rex L. Navarro,
ex.navarro923@gmail.com
