TACLOBAN CITY, (PNA) –The recent food price hike is seen as a setback to the efforts of reducing malnutrition prevalence in Eastern Visayas as rice gets a bigger share of the food budget, an official said.
National Nutrition Council (NNC) regional program coordinator Segundina Devota Dilao believed that food price adjustments could contribute to rising malnutrition incidence especially in urban and semi-urban areas where households have no vegetable gardens.
“Since rice eats a big chunk of their income, some families will not be able to buy meat, fish, fruits and vegetables. For those with gardens, rice price increase won’t have a significant impact,” Dilao said.
According to the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), carbohydrate foods like rice are at the base of the pyramid and are for liberal consumption to meet 55 percent to 70 percent of energy needs. A viand is a combination of vegetables and fish or other animal protein sources, capped by fruits.
As of last week, the average retail price for a kilogram of regular milled rice is P40. Well-milled rice is P43, according to the National Food Authority (NFA). The price is way up than the P30 to P32 prevailing price per kilogram during the first quarter of 2013.
“Even if the price is high, people have to buy the commodity because rice is a staple food. Consequently, people have to give up budget for other nutritional needs,” Dilao said.
The government offers a cheaper alternative –NFA rice at P27 per kilogram but even low-income families don’t buy the commodity because of its poor quality.
“Why buy a variety of rice that does not taste good if we don’t even have a good side dish?” asked 29-year-old pedicab driver Richard Maceda, Jr. of Barangay Malaguicay, Tanauan, Leyte.
Maceda said he spends P86 daily – nearly half of his P200 income – to feed his family good rice for three meals. He admitted that his four children are not well-nourished considering that they only have a very minimal budget for other food items.
As of 2012, a couple with two children in Eastern Visayas needs at least P288 daily to satisfy basic needs.
Other than increasing food prices, the NNC also tags larger family size, lack of education and natural calamities as factors that contribute to high malnutrition incidence.
Eastern Visayas is seeking to reduce malnutrition prevalence to 12 percent from 13.72 percent in 2012. The region has nearly 73,000 malnourished children under the age of 0-5 years old.