UN food agency to help monitor distribution of rice in RP

MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations yesterday said it would help monitor the distribution of government-subsidized rice in the country to make sure that it reaches the people who need it most.

UN resident coordinator Nileema Noble assured the Philippine government, through Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, that the organization will support efforts to strengthen the surveillance system that will help identify those who are particularly vulnerable to food price hikes.

“We will be very happy to work with the government and support its ongoing efforts,” Noble said during a media forum organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Greenhills, San Juan.

While he acknowledged the UN’s support, Yap also urged the UN to establish a “global system” to ensure that “we have stockpiles in place.”

“I take the invitation of the UN to work closely with them in terms of food distribution, but I also urge the UN team to think of a regional or global food stockpile program,” Yap said.

He said the program would allow countries in need to buy food “sans political considerations, sans geopolitical considerations.”

He said the current global food crisis was due to “the inability of global nations to put in place global food reserves and stockpiles for access to all.”

Meanwhile, the agriculture secretary renewed his call to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units to put in place the family access cards (FACs) to allow distribution of government subsidized rice to the right beneficiaries.

The Department of Agriculture, through the National Food Authority, is selling state-subsidized rice at P18.25 through NFA rolling stores and Tindahan Natin outlets.   – Helen Flores