OpinionsPublic EngagementSecuring food security frontliners

Securing food security frontliners

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Food insecurity is real during a crisis. This is particularly true when there are not enough food supply or money to purchase what are essentials to survive until the situation has normalized.

As the days progress with the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine, the attention of the economically marginalized majority seems to have diverted more on the issue about financial subsidy and food assistance from the government.

Having no income because most economic activities are hampered, the marginalized must have felt now the intensity of hunger and powerlessness.

But while some are happy how their respective local government unit and barangay officials have attended to their needs without discrimination, others alleged over social media that they have officials who are selective in giving assistance or who do not give enough to sustain them.

Others are too frustrated to hear that residents in other LGUs had enjoyed assistance several times while they have received only once or none at all.

Some of the marginalized people are the small fishers and fish vendors who have limited access to the market or opportunity to peddle their catch around the neighborhood due to the ECQ imposition.

But even the fish vendors in the public market, like in Dumaguete, have suffered much from poor sales because the number of buyers had tremendously dropped as a result of the reduced window hours in observance of physical distancing and the opportunity to disinfect the market complex.

However, the Department of Interior & Local Government discourages the imposition of limited window hours because this causes congestion of people with same marketing schedule in their quarantine passes (https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/20).

Agriculture Sec. William Dar had announced the equally vital role of “farmers, fishers, and other workers in the food value chain” in the fight against CoViD-19 (https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/11/).

And by not giving ways and opportunities that they could continue to perform this role is a failure to recognize them as food security frontliners similar to the medical frontliners in health security.

In fact, the Commission on Human Rights has called upon the LGUs to strengthen their policies of allowing farmers and fishers to work even with the ECQ imposition (https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1263581/).

Indeed, it is a serious problem how to ensure that food supply is adequate and affordable when economic activities had decreased or when supply is abundant but difficult to market because of the movement restrictions of producers or consumers.

Currently, the Dumaguete LGU and some entrepreneurial individuals have ventured into mobile, community (talipapa), and online markets which coincide with the call of the CHR and DA to guarantee the rights of farmers and fishers for a fair price and a market for their products.

These market innovations likewise benefit the consumers who cannot go out beyond what is allowed in their quarantine passes.

Silliman University, as one of the implementing institutions of the BFAR-USAID Fish Right Program, continues its assistance to the fisheries sector in South Negros amid the CoViD-19 crisis.

The SU South Negros team, headed by Dr. Ben Malayang III, wanted to virtually connect fish vendors and consumers to directly and privately transact business.

This initiative is also a way of empowering small fishers and fish vendors to continue making a living with dignity given that the financial subsidy and food assistance from the government are not enough to meet their daily essentials.

The SUSN team engaged Computer Studies Dean Dr. Dave Marcial, who is also director of the SU Dr. Mariano Law Innovation, Creation, & Invention Laboratory, and head of the SU-DOST Technology Business Incubation Program, and his Team to design an online platform.

The Team brainstormed on what platform is feasible and decided to use Facebook Page than to develop an App at this time given the backgrounds of small fishers and fish vendors.

The development of an App is on the pipeline for use in the fisheries sector for the new normal in fish marketing and trading.

The virtual market is called the Fish Tiangge (https://www.facebook.com/FishTiangge/) which was launched online on March 28. Six fish vendors are currently active on Fish Tiangge, while more from the public market intended to enroll per invitation by the SUSN Team in coordination with the City Economic Enterprise Office.

Every participating fish vendor provided the photos of the kind of fisheries products they are selling and their corresponding prices.

The posted products on FB also have mobile phone numbers for the buyers to directly transact with concerned fish vendors if the latter cannot check online.

The Fish Tiangge team would also advise the buyers how to proceed with the transaction. The mode of payment is cash on delivery.

In recent development, as the ECQ has been extended up to the end of April but with uncertainty when the situation will normalize, Dr. Lao has approved to fund the proposal to expand the current Fish Tiangge to the other LGUs in South Negros.

In his text message to Dr. Malayang, Dr. Lao said: “I am very happy and honored to be your partner in this great project after reading your concept.”

Dr. Lao, who has been helping the poor and marginalized, must be inspired with the idea that the FT, which uses simple platform, could function even after the pandemic to secure fishers’ incomes, thus, improving their resilience to market stresses.

Dr. Lao was once a young night fisher during the War, according to Dr. Malayang.

The extended Fish Tiangge will involve organized fishers’ associations with members that directly market their fisheries products.

They will be evaluated based on certain criteria, and the associations that qualify would be given financial and training assistance for acquiring and in using modern technology for selling fresh fisheries products and other skills like food safety, promotion, and marketing.

In return, their major responsibility is to ensure that catching and trading are fully compliant with fisheries laws and regulations as well as consistent with LGU fisheries management principles and programs–therefore, legal.

The restrictions also include those listed in the Red Book of Threatened and Endangered Fishes in the Philippines. This expectations from partner fishers’ associations is consistent to the goals of the FR Program in South Negros.

As we recognized that there are frontliners who are vital in our food security amid the CoViD-19 pandemic, we also have to realize our duty to assist them how they can continue to perform their functions and secure their health and economic well-being from this multi-layered crisis.

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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