January 16, 2025

Emmanuel "Manny" F. Piñol

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Jessica Soho’s SONA RICE SUFFICIENCY IS A MUST BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Manny Piñol June 28, 2016 2 min read
By Trisha Macas, GMA News
Published June 28, 2016
Incoming Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said on Monday that the Philippines should strive for rice self-sufficiency to mitigate the effects of climate change.
During an interview on GMA News TV’s “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho”, Piñol rejected the suggestion that the Philippines should continue importing rice because it is cheaper and that farmers barely earn anything from the crop.
“Iyong ganyang pananaw, Jessica, na mag-import na lang tayo, pananaw ng isang tamad iyan na ayaw na mag-isip. Ang problema natin ngayon, meron tayong realidad, iyong climate change. Noong araw, ganoon din ang pananaw ko, ‘Sige lang, ‘di bale, mag-import lang tayo ng bigas. Magtanim tayo ng rubber, saging, pinya, at kung ano-ano pang mga high-value crops. Kung may pera tayo, mag-iimport tayo,’” he said.
“But the problem now is climate change. Tinamaan tayo ng El Niño. Tinamaan ang Vietnam. Tinamaan ang Thailand. All of these countries are already vulnerable to climate change.”
According to analysts, world rice production is expected to decline for the first time in 2010 as El Niño ravaged rice fields in top rice exporters India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In April, Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary for Operations Emerson Palad warned that rice was the second most affected crop because of El Niño in the first quarter of 2016.
But the damage was not as bad as projected. Palad had expected a lose of 900,000 metric tons of rice, but the actual loses came to 225,272 MT.
Meanwhile, Piñol added that climate change and its effects made rice self-sufficiency a must for the country.
“What if one day, tayong lahat tinamaan ng El Niño, saan tayo kukuha ng bigas? So it is now a must. It’s no longer a choice eh. It’s a must that we must produce our own food. It is a must that we produce enough rice for the country kasi ganyan ang katotohanan ngayon eh. We can do it,” Piñol added. — Trisha Macas/DVM/TJD, GMA News
SONA: Panayam kay incoming Agriculture Sec. Manny Piñol
YOUTUBE.COM
SONA: Panayam kay incoming Agriculture Sec. Manny Piñol

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