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Around one-third of Filipino households experience moderate to severe food insecurity, and 34.5% of them are from rural areas.
This is according to the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) of DOST-FNRI.
Likewise, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), states that food insecurity is when people are at risk from inadequate food consumption to meet the nutritional requirements of the body as a result of the physical absence of food, lack of social or economic access to adequate food, and poor food utilization.
The 2021 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) of the FAO reported that 2.3 billion people or 29.3% of the global population were moderately or severely food insecure.
For the FAO, this outcome highlights the intensification of the major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition globally, such as climate extremes and economic shocks.
According to the 2021 ENNS (DOST-FNRI), food insecurity is more visible in households with more than five individuals, having a male household head, and having a poor wealth status.
The same survey revealed that Filipinos have different coping strategies to overcome hunger and food insecurity, especially during the pandemic.
The top food and non-food coping strategies they employ include buying goods on credit, borrowing food, and seeking loan assistance from their relatives, neighbors, and friends.
In addition, the DOST-FNRI also found out that households are engaged in some form of food production, such as cultivating fruit and vegetable gardens and rearing livestock. In particular, around 50% of Filipino families produce livestock and have fruit gardens, while around 60% of Filipino households have vegetable gardens.
According to the Department of Health’s National Nutrition Council (DOH-NNC), having a food garden is an urgent call for good nutrition. Having a food garden will go a long way in bringing about socio-economic and nutritional benefits at the household level.
Thus, the DOST-FNRI supports and encourages every family in rural and urban areas to adopt simple ways in addressing hunger and malnutrition, such as tending vegetable and fruit gardens and raising livestock or maintaining these if already established.
In urban areas where fruits and vegetables are more expensive, households are encouraged to setup or maintain urban gardens, even in pots or recycled containers, to produce healthy and nutritious foods for their families.
Cultivating vegetable and fruit gardens and raising livestock allow people to produce their food at a far lower cost than what is commercially-available in the markets. These can also open up additional revenue streams if they produce significant quantities of food that can be sold to neighbors.
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