MAGANA, Jericho Bryan T.

GED105 – A32

A. SDG # 2: Zero Hunger

B. Hunger in the Philippines amidst COVID-19 Pandemic.

C. It is already a contested issue because the Philippines is one of the countries in

Asia that considers hunger and food insecurity a main problem even before

COVID-19 Pandemic.

D. This SDG # 2 will benefit vulnerable people the most and will be a big impact in

country’s poverty.

THE BENEFITS OF FOOD SECURITY AND ZERO HUNGER TO FILIPINOS

(Word Count: 2098)

INTRODUCTION

The 2nd sustainable development goal, “Zero Hunger”, will be one of the most

important agenda that has a tendency to have an impact on most countries in Asia such

as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and especially the Philippines, where poverty is one

of the common contemporary issues that the country is dealing with. Most of the

countries that suffer from hunger are from Asia in which around nearly a half billion

people there are still hungry.  Countries around the world will contribute in attaining a

better sustainable future that the United Nations (UN) planned for the sake of all people.
Every person wants to rise above their everyday struggles, especially those who are

born without having anything that can make them alive and better. Furthermore, it is

also one of the reasons why the United Nations designed two goals generally for people

who suffer from poverty and hunger. The organization acknowledged this as one of the

world’s main problems or issues that is currently happening. Moreover, it should also

acknowledge the main causes of hunger around the world, such as poverty, food

insecurity, natural disasters, and other possible causes in order to also provide a

blueprint for a better sustainable future for the unprivileged people. In order to achieve

these, the 2nd Sustainable Development Goals was created, which aims to provide a

lifeline to all the victims of hunger and poverty. This goal was made because it will

benefit all the vulnerable people around the world.

BODY

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic came, the whole world was on lockdown

because of the deadly virus itself. In the Philippines, millions of people were affected as

they went unemployed because of the lockdown. The impact of this pandemic makes it

harder for every vulnerable person in their situations as they continue to suffer from

poverty and especially from hunger. In 2020, the Philippines set a record, with 7.6

million families suffering from hunger from last June to August 2020 as its hunger

incidence rate is now 30.7% (Aguilar, 2020). The previous record was in March 2012,

with a rate of 23.8%. This shows that millions of Filipinos are affected by these COVID-

19 pandemic as they continue to suffer from hunger and poverty. The two main reasons

why a lot of Filipino families are experiencing hunger are because of the inconsistent

lockdowns and lack of government support or “ayuda”. As the time goes by, a lot more
households are suffering from hunger as they also experience having no food to put on

their tables. Last November to December 2020, it was reported that 62.1% surveyed

households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity (CNN Philippines, 2021). It

is said that food insecurity is the state of people who are at risk as they have no reliable

access to a measurable quantity of nutritious food. Furthermore, it is a result of food

unavailability, which is also the cause of lack of economic access to sufficient or

insufficient food utilization. This shows that people who have no access to food are the

ones who are mandated to be hospitalized. Moreover, they are more likely to have

chronic health conditions such as asthma, anemia, etc. According to Lopez (2020),

there are also Filipinos who went unemployed and ended up in the streets during the

pandemic. One of those Filipinos is Daniel Auminto, who lost his job and home, and

ended up relying on the food leftovers in the street with his family in order to survive. As

the hunger rate keeps on growing, the charities are struggling to keep up with the

Filipinos’ demand for food. 

 This issue mainly affects the farmers in the Philippines. This means that it

affects the country’s agriculture, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the

demand compression and the disruption of supply chain was dispelled simultaneously.

These occurrences affected the delivery of goods that were made from the farm. Thus,

there were mobility issues that occured (Dy, 2020). This also pertains to the downfall of

the Philippine economy, which means it was affected by the pandemic. Since the

delivery of goods were disrupted, many people were affected as well as they continue to

suffer from hunger. Last year’s-imposed lockdowns also affected many farmers' lives as

they struggled to sell tons of vegetables, which ended up throwing them away (Rivas,
2020). The farmer said that there is no oversupply as many stores are closed because

of the coronavirus. The implementation of strict checkpoints especially in Luzon is the

main reason why the food supplies from the farm are disrupted. In addition, a lot of

households ended up suffering from hunger as they did not receive food from the farm.

There are propositions conducted by the Department of Agriculture in achieving food

security.

       There are Philippine indigenous communities that are currently isolated, which

also means they are safe from the coronavirus. However, they are not safe from hunger

as they are affected by the strict COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. The indigenous

people from Cordillera have certain challenges in this current situation from the imposed

extended community quarantine (Degawan, 2020). They are aware of disasters that

may happen to them. They have coping mechanisms despite having worse situations,

one of them is called, ubaya or tengaw, which declares to stay at home also during the

agricultural cycle. However, there are still particular challenges for the indigenous

people in this current situation. Logging and mining activities in their area also means

that there will be less agricultural lands for the indigenous communities. Furthermore,

climate change also contributes to the struggles of the indigenous people as it has an

impact on their agricultural cycle. Thus, they have less food supplies and would be

suffering from hunger, especially that they are isolated. The indigeneous people are

isolated and free from the coronavirus, but they could not be guaranteed if they can

resist the possible struggles during this pandemic. An indigenous community, Dumagat

tribe, from Rodriquez, Rizal, remains COVID-19 free, but they are not safe from hunger
(Aguilar, 2021). It started when Dahlia Cruz-Cabio and her mother’s name was not

listed as one of the aid beneficiaries provided by the Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD). It was promised that they would be given P4,000 by the

government, but it did not happen. Aftermath, her mother was forced to take a trip to

their hometown in Rizal to sell fruits and vegetables. 

Since the 2nd sustainable development goal is made, it means that these

occurrences are not only happening in the Philippines. The SDG # 2, especially the

World Food Programme, supplies a critical lifeline to all of the unprivileged people

around the world. In this pandemic, the food supply chains must be kept in order to

reduce the risks that can have a big impact on people across the world. The Food and

Agriculture Organizations wants to reduce the risk by persuading the countries to

provide the vulnerable people an immediate food, but at the same time to improve the

social protection programs in order to achieve food security. In addition, the

organization also wants to help and encourage the farmers to improve the food

production in every country. With these plans, the SDG # 2 will have an impact to

everyone, including Filipino families who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and

especially to the farmers who were suffered from hunger. In 2020, Task Force Zero

Hunger and private sectors came up with a plan by taking action on hunger and food

security in the Philippines (Kabagani, 2020). Moreover, the Pilipinas Kontra Gutom

movement are used to address these problems. The Cabinet Secretary and Task Force

Zero Hunger Chairman Karlo Nograles stated that the program urges all organizations,

private sectors, and concerned communities to help and participate to the efforts of the

government in suppressing the anti-hunger issues in the country. With this, it will also
benefit the farmers and other producers like indigenous people. In June 2021, the Zero

Hunger task force in the Philippines aided the Ilocos residents through different

programs by the government agencies (Austria, 2021). The Department of Health

(DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department

of Education (DepEd) worked together and provided nutrition services to 80,400

children that are currently enrolled in Child Development Center. This is one of the

benefits that the SDG # 2 will provide and have an impact to Filipino families and

children.

Another benefit of the Filipinos is its agriculture as the Department of Agriculture

looks forward to improve and attain the sustainable development goals as they want to

allow the farmers to attain food security in the Philippines. According to Agriculture

Secretary William Dar, they are working on its sustainable development, productivity of

the farm and incomes, and to assure food security for all people (Cudis, 2021). It

pertains to the key strategies provided by the Department of Agriculture (DA) for

attaining the 2nd sustainable development goal. Agriculture Secretary William Dar

stated that they want to take part in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in

2030, which is also one of the goals of the United Nations (UN). This is one of the main

goals of the SDG # 2, which it includes having a better and sustainable agriculture

especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.

The SDG # 2 includes the indigenous people in its plans, in which their goal is to

increase the productivity in agriculture and every food producer’s income, including

indigenous people, farmers, etc. In addition, the SDG # 2 also wants to improve the

agricultural production and productivity, as they want to make sure that the food
production systems are sustainable and apply agricultural practices. These are their

target by 2030. In May 2020, North Cotabato aids their indigenous people members in

four different villages (Fernandez, 2020). The North Cotabato Governor, Nancy

Catamco organized the program and disseminated the food items and farm seeds to the

292 indigenous farmers in four different villages, which are Bacong, Batang, Bituan, and

Daig, respectively. The B’laan tribe went through earthquakes last two years and the

COVID-19 lockdowns, which people’s movements are very limited, as their belongings

were taken away during those times. These occurrences were the reason why the North

Cotabato provided aid to the indigenous farmers. More importantly, this is why the SDG

# 2 will definitely benefit the indigenous people because they are also one of the food

producers that are prioritized.

In discussing the importance of SDG # 2, its main goal is to put an end to hunger

and bad health nutrition in its any forms by 2030. In addition, it also wants to make sure

that people across the world have adequate and nutrition foods. In the Philippines, the

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) wants to step up to attain the

SDG # 2 (Cudis, 2021). Task forces and non-profit organizations will help each other to

create blueprints and projects that can contribute to eliminate hunger, enhance the

nutrition system, and especially attain food security and sustainable agriculture in the

Philippines. This plan shows the significance of the SDG # 2 as it also influenced our

country to take part in this goal that can be achieved in 2030.

CONCLUSION

In summarizing the context, the three main points that were pointed out will be

explained. First, it will benefit all the people including households that is currently
suffering from hunger and poverty especially during this COVID-19 pandemic. The SDG

# 2 aims to eliminate hunger and achieve food security. The Philippines’ task forces and

private sectors planned to step up in achieving this goal. Secondly, it will benefit the

farmers, because having a sustainable agriculture is one of the main goals of SDG # 2.

Moreover, having a sustainable development is one of the plans of Department of

Agriculture. Lastly, the SDG # 2 will benefit the indigenous people in the country. The

SDG # 2 prioritizes them along with farmers, as they are also food producers. One of

the targets of this goal is to increase the productivity in agriculture and the farmers’ or

any food producers’ income. If achieved, there will be zero hunger and have food

security across the world by 2030. Farmers and indigenous people are the reason why

people can access food because the food itself came from them. They are the ones

who sell and supplies foods, especially vegetables that the most people in the country

used to eat. Thus, most people are more likely to depend on them. This is why the SDG

# 2 was made because it will benefit all the vulnerable people in the world.