Slowpoke decisions touch off rice crisis

An economist from government think tank, Philippine Institute for evelopment Studies (PIDS), contested Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso Alcala’s "rice self-sufficiency strategies” citing "flaws” in the management of the country’s current rice situation that stem from "inherently slow, politicized decision-making.” PIDS senior research fellow Dr. Roehlano Briones said on Wednesday that the country’s rice prices are higher than what is "enjoyed by the rest of the world,” because "our domestic production is not enough to meet demand.” Briones’s statement comes in the wake of Balisacan’s September 10 Memorandum for the President, warning of "food security issues” arising from a 2013 rice production deficit of anywhere from 0.5 million to 1.4 million metric tons (MT). But while Alcala continues to insist that rice supplies are sufficient, Briones, citing Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) figures from 2010 to 2012, quotes a minimum deficit of more than 3 million MT between production and net food disposable data.