More than a year after its launch in November 2020, Pilipinas Kontra Gutom (PKG) partners share milestones towards the movement’s goal of less hungry Filipinos.
Pilipinas Kontra Gutom is a multi-sectoral movement of Task Force Zero Hunger with the public sector and 80 partner members from private corporations and non-government organizations working hand in hand to address the country’s concerns on involuntary hunger – food production and distribution, malnutrition, food surplus and immediate food needed during times of disasters.
Four-Fold Mission
Divide and conquer is one of the guiding principles of the movement. Multi-sectoral working groups were set up targeting specific beneficiaries and focused on different priorities toward achieving zero hunger in the country.
The first priority is food availability and accessibility with the vision to elevate farming as a dignified, sustainable profession among smallholder farmers and other food producers. The goal is to increase farmer income by as much as 20% in the first year and double productivity by 2025. Key programs include the expansion of value chain projects by partner companies through capacity building and logistics improvement in the farm-to-consumer process.
Second is the nutrition adequacy goal. The group is eyeing zero undernourished Filipino children across all households by 2030. The key program to drive this objective involves a sustainable, nutrition education program for pregnant mothers that guides them during the first 1000 days of a child and teaches them how to build a healthy food culture at home through nutritious, delicious yet budget-friendly recipes for the family.
Food assistance and security during disasters are the third priority of the movement. A strengthened and synchronized public and private sectors’ disaster response initiatives during disasters to ensure efficient food distribution is the end in mind.
Food banking is the landmark project for availability and assistance, the fourth priority. The aim is to establish an effective food banking system in Metro Manila that will help supply and ensure a sustainable flow of food to communities in need.
Milestones
On food availability and accessibility, 4,000 farmers and agripreneurs have been assisted through programs such as Nestle and GIZ’s Project Coffee+, TESDA-Nestle’s Coffee Farmer Scholarship Program, Cargil’s Yellow Corn Project with Aboitiz, Cargill, Bayer, Pilmico, Vitarich, Save the Children and PPSA, and Learning Series led by Jollibee Group Foundation with Harbest and PPSA.
Another program that helps with food availability and accessibility is Feed Back, a community-based vegetable exchange, that helps solve hunger in just 5 weeks. It creates a path for families to source food from their backyards, exchange excess produces with their neighbors, and sell it to their community, nearby villages, and towns.
In the area of assistance during times of crisis, the group collaborates with local and national organizations, corporations, civil society groups, and local government units to execute efforts for the victims of calamities, and pre-evacuation for typhoon-affected families.
On availability of food surplus and repurposing it through assistance, this team has set up a food bank portal where companies and groups can key in their food surplus to be distributed via the Assistance workstream. Through the collaboration of DOLE, Grab, San Miguel Corporation, URC, Scaling Up Nutrition, and Supply Chain Management Association of the Phils., the goal is to establish an effective food banking system that will help supply and sustain food to communities in need.
Lahat kasali, lahat kasalo.
To date, the movement has reached more than 450,000 Filipinos across its four-fold mission where incidences of hunger and malnutrition are high.
In a recent PKG gathering, Task Force Zero Hunger Chair, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles shared that the hunger incidence in the country has improved. “The Philippines also improved its ranking in the 2021 Global Hunger Index. The Philippines ranked 68th out of 116 countries. With a score of 16.8, we have a moderate level of hunger. This is a notch higher than in the 2020 GHI when we ranked 69th with a score of 19.0,” shared Chair Nograles.
PKG invites every Filipino to help. Lahat kasali, lahat kasalo. Individuals may visit kaintayopilipinas.com for details and private corporations, non-profit organizations, and groups who would like to be part of the movement may send an email to pkg@ph.mcd.com.
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