DA: No food shortage amid rising hunger

Amid a sharp increase in the number of hungry Filipinos, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has maintained there is no food supply shortage in the country.

- By BELLA CARIASO

"I do not see... a shortage of food. We cannot discount there is hunger, but I think that's more of economics, not agriculture-related," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said yesterday.

"We have almost everything, especially now, March, April, May and June," he added, referring to the harvest season.

Around 27.2 percent of Filipino families, or 7.5 million households, experienced involuntary hunger in the past three months, based on the latest Social Weather Stations survey.

The SWS said the country's hunger rate sharply rose last month, reaching its highest level since the pandemic lockdowns in 2020.