THE food security framework adopted by the government will seek to expand the role of local governments in food logistics and distribution, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The framwork, formally known as the Food Security Development Framework (FSDF), was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which is coordinating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment effort.
“The FSDF outlines the national government’s immediate action points and ‘rebound’ mechanisms. We will strengthen partnerships with local government units (LGUs), farmers’ groups and cooperatives, agricultural state universities and colleges, and the private sector,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
LGUs have been instrumental in food distribution during the lockdown, and have also developed direct purchasing arrangements with farmers in order to stabilize the market for produce, which had collapsed after they were cut off from major markets like Metro Manila.
“The framework aims to provide the overall vision and high-level goals for the sector to attain in the immediate and short-term. It focuses on five objectives of food production, namely: availability, accessibility, affordability, price stability, and food safety,” Mr. Dar said.
The DA heads the Task Group on Food Security (TGFS), which is composed of 20 agencies. The TGFS has four sub-groups focused on food resiliency, energy, the food value chain, and logistics.
The IATF also approved guidelines developed by the DA to ensure the safety of agricultural workers during the pandemic.
Mr. Dar said that the guidelines will cover food safety practices in production, handling, transportation, retail, and household preparation of farm and fisheries commodities during the lockdown.
“Keeping every player across the food supply chain — from producers, handlers to consumers — healthy and safe is also critical to our food security efforts,” Mr. Dar said.
The food safety guidelines include good hygiene practices, cleaning and sanitation, storage, distribution and transport, and personal hygiene and fitness to mitigate possible COVID-19 transmission and produce healthy work environments.
“While COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and the primary transmission route is through person-to-person contact and not via food nor food packaging, it is imperative to observe food safety protocols to protect agri-fishery frontliners,” Mr. Dar said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
