There are two areas of concern to
deal with, the level of food security and touching our lives of being conscious
of how to conserve the availability of food on
its optimal utilization in addressing food crises.
Definition .
Food
security- means the availability of food stuffs readily accessible in time
of need or when needed such as the staple food like rice and corn, fruits,
vegetables, and meat and meat products;
Food security - it would mean also the accessibility of food stuffs that
contain protein, vitamin and mineral sources in the market at affordable
prices to include spices and other ingredients
that people can buy, for without these, we are at the state of food crises..
Food security - it also mean producing food stuffs beyond sufficiency
level.
Food Conservation Consciousness - is the level of awareness of food utilization at
optimum.
There
are several factors that determine the food security program. To mention a few
are the following;
1st – Seed Technology. It is identified as the major determinant on food security.
Using high
quality seeds like foundation seeds,
registered seeds, hybrid seeds and certified seeds translates more than 30%
percent increase in yield surplus relative to ordinary or home grown seeds. The
use of home grown seeds will not bring a good promise on yield such that the
return on investment is adversely affected which lead to deficit and losses.
2nd- Soil Technology. It is another determinant, thus having an improved soil it
has a multiplying effects on the yield of crops. It is of primary concern for
the farmer to improve the fertility of the soil, texture of the soil, and soil
structure prior to planting. The organic matter content of the soil must be increased by adding biodegradable and
compostable materials from house holds, industries, and farm wastes. The
acidity of the soil can checked by adding agricultural lime, dolomite and other
organic related materials locally available. The population of the indigenous microorganisms
that are beneficial to both the soil and the plants are enhanced. It follows
with the saying that “ Healthy-fertile soil, Produces Healthy-Productive Plants
and Healthy People”.
3rd – Production Technology. As a process, the adoption of
appropriate and best practices in farming are the means to increase farm yield neither organic farming, in-organic farming or
a combination of both in an integrated farming system, multiple cropping
system, Sloping Agricultural Land Technology farming, or catch cropping. That is maximizing
the productivity of the lands per unit area.
4th – Post Harvest Technology. The farm losses, processing losses,
handling and storage losses must be managed properly thru the use of an
appropriate post harvest facilities.. For example in rice farming; 14 - 17%percent
of the crop yield losses is incurred every production
season, this yield were lost due to
pests Infestation, shattered during harvesting, wasted during threshing, hauling
and transport, drying, and pilferage.
5th- Cooking Technology. What cooking technology is appropriate of not to lost the
vitamins and minerals in the food stuffs, so that all benefits are availed by
the human body for the balance nutrition and good health? There are various
ways and methods in cooking to deal with in order to conserve the nutrients,
dieticians can be of great help to provide the idea.
CONSUMPTION LEVEL:
According
to the National Statistics the per capital consumption of rice is 119 kilogram
annually per person. This is equivalent to 4.5 sacks of unmilled rice 44kg per sack of
60% percent milling recovery. It means that in a family of five (5) there are
22.5 sacks of unmilled rice to produce for the farming family, and the excess of
which can be sold to the non-farming families as marketed surplus. However, the
majority of our rice farmers are below subsistence farming.
How do farmers dispose
their unmilled rice? The 10 year national research of the PhilRice revealed
that of the total unmilled rice production per farm, about;
=
49% percent disposal as marketed surplus. And the rest are dispose as
Payment
of;
=
14 % percent to harvesters/threshers
= 9% percent payment to landlord
=
1% percent kept as seeds for planting in the next season
=
8% percent for creditors and for feeds
=
19% percent retained for home consumption
On the other hand, food security can
be attained by generating high disposable income in
every person or households of the
non-farming sector. Having more money in the pocket, therefore access to food
is not a problem.
For the farmers, in order
to attain food security he should adopt crop diversification through integrated
farming system or multiple cropping systems. So that growing of two, three or more
crops per unit area, well secure the farmer of food supply and even generate high
disposable income to buy or pay other needs.
For the non-farmers, diversification
of income sources is highly feasible by managing time to generate additional income
opportunities in order to Increase the
disposable income to access foods everyday.
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THE SECOND ISSUE OF THE THEME is on FOOD CONSERVATION CONSCIOUSNESS:
The
consumer attention brought on food-left-over during meal times. Statistics
revealed that in any manner of eating in the dinning room or in the restaurant,
hotels or any celebrations, there are always food-left-over equivalent to 0.5
to 1 %percent left per person. It means
in rice alone we are wasting an average of 0.75% percent every meal time. This
translates to an equivalent of 7.5kilogram wasted in every 1,000kilo of
clean rice. So, let us institute some measures to conserve the supply of rice
by having this tips as follows;
1. Cook rice just enough for the members
of the household can consume.
2. Dish out food in the dishes enough to
consume.
3. Consume rice per serving up to the
last rice grain in the dishes.
In storage:
1. Store your rice and other food stuffs
in a rat proof containers.
2. Practice the first-in, first-out
consumption inventory process to avoid food spoilage.
3. Store perishable food stuffs in the
appropriate storage facilities, like refrigerators,
Freezer, ice boxes and other means.
4. Process and preserve to conserve some
meat and non-meat food stuffs for future use. Avoid using synthetic preservatives to
make your food safe and good for human health.
Hence, it is imperative
that we should till to our self, to our friends, to the members of our family,
to the farmers on how to conserve our soil from erosion and other means of
destruction. Because, with out it, we can not produce enough food. Soil is life.
=
let us be an asset to the environment and not as a liability
=
let us be thrifty and not an extravagant
=
LET US share food to people who don’t have, and
= be an ambassador for peace and
good well.
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