KANIN IS LIFE!
Hindi lamang sa maraming Pilipino kung hindi maging sa iba’t ibang bansa na ang pangunahing pagkain sa hapag ay kanin.
Sa paglubo ng populasyon sa Pilipinas, unti-unti ring nauubos ang supply ng bigas dahilan para tumaas ang presyo nito at mapilitan tayong mag-import.
Kailan nga ba nagsimulang mag-import ng bigas ang Pilipinas? Here's what you #NeedToKnow.
Hindi lamang sa maraming Pilipino kung hindi maging sa iba’t ibang bansa na ang pangunahing pagkain sa hapag ay kanin.
Sa paglubo ng populasyon sa Pilipinas, unti-unti ring nauubos ang supply ng bigas dahilan para tumaas ang presyo nito at mapilitan tayong mag-import.
Kailan nga ba nagsimulang mag-import ng bigas ang Pilipinas? Here's what you #NeedToKnow.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 For more than 3 million people around the world,
00:03 rice is the main food in the world.
00:06 Ria is with more than 100 million Filipinos
00:09 who, like us,
00:11 "Rice is Life."
00:13 As the population of the country continues to grow,
00:16 the price of rice also increases.
00:18 The answer to the problem is
00:20 to import.
00:22 When did the Philippines start importing rice?
00:27 Here's what you need to know.
00:30 Before rice became popular in the country,
00:33 plants like gavi, taro, and yam
00:37 were planted by the ancient Filipinos.
00:40 When the immigrants from Mexico arrived,
00:43 we learned to eat corn
00:45 until the cultivation of rice was discovered.
00:49 If we look at how agriculture is developing
00:52 in all places,
00:54 or the areas where the river is close,
00:57 we see it in Mesopotamia,
01:00 the Nile River, Egypt,
01:02 and here in the Philippines,
01:04 our biggest river is the Cagayan River.
01:07 So archaeologists say
01:10 that the first rice cultivation in the Philippines
01:14 started in Cagayan.
01:16 So it means that before the Spanish
01:19 came to the country in the 15th and 16th centuries,
01:22 Filipinos probably ate rice.
01:25 Rice was a popular crop back then
01:28 because it was not yet popular.
01:30 Using a big pot,
01:32 men would dig up the soil
01:35 and women would plant rice.
01:38 During the Spanish era,
01:41 eating rice became a status symbol.
01:44 It means that only the rich
01:47 could eat delicious rice.
01:49 Besides,
01:51 rice also played a big role in the Spanish.
01:56 We also had an influence on the Spanish.
02:00 We can say that our influence on them
02:04 was also influenced by their culinary culture.
02:09 Because of the exchange of trade,
02:12 they conquered the Philippines for 300 years.
02:16 Just like the Baea we call it back then,
02:20 it was a fusion of technology
02:24 from the Philippines, Spain,
02:29 and other countries that ate rice.
02:36 From Cagayan region,
02:38 the famous Banaue Rice Terraces was built.
02:41 The rice cultivation in Nueva Ecija,
02:45 the country's most famous rice granary,
02:47 was already flourishing in the 1940s.
02:52 But it was almost depleted
02:54 due to the war in the Philippines.
02:57 I also taught indigenous people
03:01 when I was young.
03:03 No one really planted rice
03:05 because people were poor.
03:07 Back then, they ate root crops,
03:11 canned goods brought by Americans.
03:16 The rice cultivation was cut off
03:19 and the export and import of rice was affected.
03:23 That's why our grandparents
03:27 would bring salt during war times
03:30 because they couldn't eat rice.
03:34 Not only the Philippines was depleted in the 1950s,
03:38 other countries like India
03:40 were the largest producers of rice in the world.
03:44 That's why the International Rice Institute was established.
03:50 Not only the Philippines,
03:55 but the whole world was in need of rice.
03:57 We remember the famine in India in the 1950s
04:03 and the rice was depleted.
04:05 From the 1970s to the 1980s,
04:08 rice production started to decline
04:10 due to the typhoons and droughts.
04:13 That's when rice importation started in other countries.
04:17 The problem with rice continues to this day.
04:22 According to studies,
04:24 the rice production is higher now
04:27 than it was 100 years ago.
04:29 For example, in 2022,
04:32 the country imported more than 1 million tons of rice.
04:36 But now, it's almost tripled.
04:40 Importing rice is one of the solutions
04:44 to lower the price of rice.
04:46 In the early days,
04:48 we imported thousands of tons of rice
04:52 up to several hundred thousand tons.
04:55 But in the 1990s,
04:58 we imported millions of tons of rice.
05:01 In the past year,
05:05 we imported 3.7 million tons of rice.
05:08 We were the number one importer in the world.
05:11 This means that rice supply in the country
05:15 has continued to decline.
05:17 The population in the Philippines has also increased.
05:20 Because of the continuous increase in demand,
05:24 our population growth has led to an increase in demand.
05:29 Our income has also increased.
05:31 And because of that,
05:33 there's an income effect.
05:35 Actually, in other countries,
05:36 the income effect is negative.
05:37 But in the Philippines,
05:38 the income effect is positive.
05:41 When the income increases,
05:43 the consumption of rice or rice in each household increases.
05:48 So, the demand continues to increase,
05:50 but there are times when the supply is limited.
05:54 The country also imported rice
05:56 to add to the lack of rice.
05:59 The more supply, the lower the price.
06:02 But this year,
06:04 there was a serious problem with rice.
06:07 This year,
06:08 there was an abnormal price movement in the international market.
06:14 Before, it was a bit low,
06:16 especially when we first opened up our imports in 2019.
06:23 So, it was low.
06:24 But in 2023,
06:26 prices suddenly went up.
06:28 Because of the announcement or the rise in the price of El Nino,
06:33 and the closure of India,
06:37 which is one of the number one exporters of rice in the world,
06:43 it prohibited the export of non-basmati rice.
06:48 So, the world markets really reacted.
06:50 Prices went up,
06:53 and we felt it too.
06:54 Climate change and land conversion are just a few of the reasons
06:58 why the supply of rice in the country continues to decline.
07:02 Some became commercial lands,
07:05 like malls and golf courses.
07:07 So, our land is lacking,
07:10 our arable lands for farming.
07:12 The other problem is with rice.
07:15 Because of our farmers,
07:19 they were not given proper land.
07:21 The Philippines is the 6th country with the highest consumption of rice in the world.
07:27 Many Filipinos are worried
07:29 that they won't be able to buy rice at a higher price.
07:32 There are alternatives,
07:34 but it's still not enough.
07:36 Okay, so,
07:38 when the price reaches 80-90,
07:42 people will worry.
07:45 And they might switch away from rice.
07:48 The question is,
07:49 are the alternatives enough?
07:51 The bread imported.
07:53 The corn,
07:54 most of our corn is not for human consumption,
07:57 but for animal consumption.
08:00 The feed for pigs.
08:02 Although, we say that sweet potatoes are an alternative.
08:05 DTI Secretary mentioned it.
08:07 Sweet potatoes are expensive,
08:09 and they are not always available in the market.
08:11 Unlike rice,
08:13 which you can find every day.
08:15 And another thing,
08:16 sweet potatoes are easily perishable.
08:18 But rice,
08:19 or better yet, rice,
08:21 you can buy it.
08:23 A question from many Filipinos,
08:25 is there still hope for rice production and supply in the country
08:29 so that we won't import rice?
08:31 Maybe the best ambition is,
08:34 number one,
08:35 for Filipinos to have a more open way of life,
08:39 so that regardless of the price of food,
08:43 we can afford it.
08:44 The other one is,
08:45 not only ordinary people in the countryside,
08:49 but also farmers
08:51 can have a better life.
08:55 The majority of them,
08:56 if the price of rice goes up,
08:58 they will also be affected.
08:59 However,
09:00 our farming community
09:02 has the highest poverty rate.
09:04 At 18.5%,
09:07 it is definitely higher.
09:10 Maybe we need to improve the perception
09:12 that we need to solve problems right away.
09:16 (music)