The Philippines on Food Security

Country: The Philippines

Committee: General Assembly: Second Committee
Delegate: Julian Billings

Opening Statement:
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the world population during the year 2000 was
comprised of approximately 6.08 billion people. Nearly two decades and an additional one
billion people later, the world is still plagued by hunger and poverty. One in nine people suffer of
hunger, and more than 10% of people within the documented world lack the nutrition required to
lead healthy lives. Despite this, nearly one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste. The
countries most affected by this issue are developing nations, the target for food security within
this assembly. The continued issue of food security within developing countries could largely be
attributed to the unspecific, discombobulated nature of resolutions past, and the current
programmes in place today. The current state of the Philippines is a unique example of why food
security is still an issue and the clear ways that concise action can provide progress towards a
resolution to this global issue.

National Action:
Several facets of the current Philippine socio-economic and political infrastructures,
namely inequalities within these areas, are to credit for continued poverty within the archipelago.
The Philippines has seen massive economic growth within the last seven years. Last year alone
the Philippines experienced a 7.1% economic growth making the Philippines the fastest growing
asian economy of 2016, and third fastest growing asian economy overall, the average growth rate
being 6.8%. This massive growth is due to the globalization of Filipino products and labor, and
fruitful trade with Japan, the U.S., and China, three of the largest economies in the world. In
spite of this impressive growth wealth is poorly distributed with 18.4% of the populace living
below the poverty line, and that poorest 20% demographic owning but 4.45% of the national
income, compared to the richest 20% of the nation earning more on average than the lower 80%
combined. While the economy has grown, increasing incomes for all demographics within the
Philippines, incomes for the lower 20% of people has not grown fast enough to match rising
prices, leaving 18.4% of the country below the poverty line. Conflicts of interest between the
overall national government based in Manilla and the local governments and peoples under them
are a significant contributor to this income inequality.

U.N. and International Action:

The Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has been hastily critical of the U.N and its
actions, particularly European members of the council, going as far as to threaten to leave the
organization following criticism of President Dutertes anti-drug policies. Tensions between the
Philippines and the U.N. have grown considerably since President Dutertes rise to office, yet
despite this, collaboration between local governments and U.N. designed programmes still
remain. In particular regard to food security, Philippine specific subsidiaries of the U.N.D.P.
(United Nations Development Project) such as the P.P.E.I. (Philippine Poverty Environment
Initiative) are in place to improve sustainability, and control climate change. The first phase of
the P.P.E.I. was a five-year (2011-2015) collaborative programme of the Government of the
Philippines and the United Nations Development Programme - United Nations Environment
Programme (U.N.D.P. - U.N.E.P.) which sought to improve the environment by making
economic decisions that improve sustainable energy technologies. Another example of fruitful
collaboration between the U.N. and the Philippines is the I.F.A.D. (International Fund for
Agricultural Development) Since 1978, over one hundred and ninety-eight million dollars
provided by the I.F.A.D. has been funnelled into irrigation projects, benefiting more sustainable
food development. Programmes such as these and the I.F.A.D. with a specific focus and basis for
action have heralded considerable success. Despite Philippine involvement in programmes such
as these, progress towards a more food secure Philippines has been slow. Extreme poverty within
the northernmost island of Luzon, the target of these programs, has been mostly eliminated. The
southern regions of the island, the regions most affected by the current campaign on illegal
drugs, has seen little change through these programs due to lack of stable collaboration between
the U.N., and the governing bodies of the southern islands. The 18.4% of the Philippine populace
living in poverty is largely located in these southern islands.

Recommendation for Action:

The Philippines has identified the general lack of identity within resolutions as the reason
for failure to realize the M.D.G.s, (Millennium Development Goals) and the first goal of the
M.D.G.s in particular; The Eradication of Extreme Hunger and Poverty. The basis for action
within all major documents regarding food security lacks specific calls to action, or a system of
accountability, or concise deliverables to meet. The Philippines sees this lack of concision and
the inequalities of national and international cooperation as the largest obstacle for progress
towards the eradication of hunger and poverty. The Philippines would like to see the formation
of a single, unified body dedicated to the issue of food security, with greater accountability
between its members. The Philippines acknowledges Russia and Chinas places within the new
global economy, and would like to see collaboration between its allies to fund this council.