WWF-Philippines highlights private sector’s role in sustainable food systems on World Food Day

October, 16 2024

In celebration of World Food Day, WWF-Philippines is urging companies to support sustainable food systems.
For 2024, World Food Day aims to highlight food as a human right with a campaign that raises awareness on the need for everyone to have access to a variety of nutritious, affordable, safe, and sustainable food.

According to WWF’s Solving the Great Food Puzzle: Place-based Solutions to Scale National Action study, the Philippines is among the countries where “food security is very low and remains a key priority.” In fact, about 17.6% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger – being hungry and not having anything to eat – at least once in the past three months. 

Among WWF-Philippines’ advocacy pillars is Sustainable Food Production which pilots projects in the agriculture and fisheries sectors to provide people with food security while operating within planetary boundaries and maintaining wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

“A movement toward a healthy and sustainable diet for Filipinos will help the country achieve food security much sooner. Such a diet would also support food sovereignty, which the Food and Agriculture Organization describes as a system that upholds people’s right to food, and ensures that food is produced in a culturally acceptable manner and in harmony with the ecosystem in which it is produced,” as stated in the WWF Solving the Great Food Puzzle study.

Local food system solutions with food shed farming

In 2018, WWF-Philippines launched its Food Shed Farming Enterprise Project, an agriculture-based livelihood intervention that promotes sustainable production of crops and poultry products for local access to fresh and quality food through food sheds. Food sheds are modular, locally-sourced models that use technologies such as hydroponics and container gardening to grow fruiting vegetables such as eggplant, okra and tomato, lettuce and other leafy vegetables, and broiler chicken.

Since its inception in 2018 through the Climate-Proofing Agricultural Landscapes (AgriClima) Project in partnership with BPI Foundation, the project has thus far established 100 food sheds and empowered 6,650 farmers. From 2022 onwards, WWF-Philippines has strengthened its impact by collaborating with new partners such as Allianz PNB Life, The Ascott Limited, EY Global Delivery Services Philippines, Booth and Partners, Epson Philippines, Sun Life Foundation, and Security Bank Corporation.

The project also provides workshops on value chain upgrading, market linkage, and financial literacy, including organizing a self-selected savings and loans group, also known as the Group Savings and Loans Association (GSLA), to provide financial services to participating small-holder farmers and community members. To date, community partners have saved as much as P14.2 million which GSLA members can access for social funds and loans. These project components, including the agri-based interventions, ensure sustainability and lasting positive impact on their livelihoods and skills they can apply to the food shed as well as to other agri-based enterprises.

The components are also applied to the Grassroots Rice-Based Agroenterprises Integrated Sustainability (GRAINS) Project with support from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). The project aims to improve the productivity and income of rice farmers through agro-entrepreneurship.

From 2022 to 2023, GRAINS trained 302 partner farmers and engaged 10 farmers’ organizations in eight host communities. The training resulted in eight demo rice farms that yielded 21.019 metric tons of harvests and a gross income of P369,053. The communities’ GSLAs also generated P391,560 in savings.

“The right to food for a better life and future presents a greater call to action for everyone to do their collective share in the solution to food insecurity and sustainable livelihood,” says Moncini Hinay, Project Manager of the Food Shed Farming Enterprise Project.

“The food shed project serves to simplify the solution to this challenge by improving access to healthy, nutrient-rich, and diverse foods while increasing the entrepreneurial skills of our community partners through innovative, climate-protective and sustainable farming practices.”

Food security through empowering fishers

Food systems that ensure food security not only involve sustainable growing methods but also ways to maximize existing supplies. Over the past decade, WWF-Philippines has been working to uplift the livelihoods of local yellowfin tuna fishers through the Sustainable Tuna Partnership (STP), which has brought together partners from across the tuna supply chain to collectively lobby for sustainable practices and the rights of small-scale fishers. This work led to the formation of the Philippine Tuna Handline Partnership (PTHP), a coalition of traders and fishers based in the Lagonoy Gulf and Mindoro Strait committed to improving their fisheries.

In 2021, PTHP became the first in the country to receive Marine Stewardship Council certification, an internationally recognized standard for sustainable fishing practices, ensuring that seafood is sourced in ways that minimize environmental impact and protect fish populations.

Building on these achievements, WWF-Philippines is further expanding efforts to support tuna fishers of Occidental Mindoro through Project Buhay: Tuna Habambuhay, Dagdag Hanapbuhay. The main goal of this EU SWITCH-Asia funded project is to make tuna fishing both sustainable and equitable. Specifically, it aims to help tuna fishers earn more from their catch by improving product quality and post-processing to reduce tuna wastage, as well as diversify tuna fishers’ income by introducing alternative livelihoods.

Among its community partners are tuna fishers in Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, where the project is helping address the chronic shortage of ice and strengthening their food safety and quality assurance practices. By working with the Mamburao Tuna Fishers Association and local fish buying station owners, with support from EY Global Delivery Services Philippines, the project is establishing an ice-retailing business model to ensure that fisherfolk have access to affordable ice.

Additionally, Project Buhay conducts training sessions to equip fishers with the skills and know-how to properly handle their catch and maximize the benefits of provided equipment. Within a year, the project trained 714 fisherfolk on food safety and 40 members of various women’s groups on hazard analysis and manufacturing processes for other seafood delicacies, resulting in 470 bottles and packs of squid and flying fish.

"Empowering the tuna fishers in Occidental Mindoro extends far beyond traditional training; our goal is to address the often difficult trade-off between livelihood and conservation by enabling communities to thrive while protecting marine ecosystems,” says Melody Melo-Rjik, Project Buhay Project Manager.

“By also integrating disaster preparedness, we equip fishers not only to sustainably manage their resources but to safeguard their livelihoods against the growing threats of climate change and environmental hazards,” she adds.

Beyond maximizing existing fisheries resources, WWF-Philippines' mission extends to safeguarding the well-being of those who provide us with food, especially during challenging times.

Through the establishment of and continued support for Group Savings and Loans Committees (GSLCs) in Occidental Mindoro and the Bicol region, STP has helped secure the livelihoods of fisherfolk families by providing financial assistance during the off-peak fishing season. This initiative enables fishers to access funds that would otherwise be out of reach due to their communities’ remote locations, far from traditional banking services.

From July 2023 to June 2024, a total of 47 GSLCs have collected approximately Php 13.8 million. A portion of these funds have been used for boat maintenance and business operations, ensuring that fishers can continue their sustainable practices and keep seafood on the plates of Filipinos.

All in all, achieving a sustainable food system requires supporting initiatives that balance the environmental and economic needs of communities. WWF-Philippines affirms that by equipping communities with the knowledge, skills and tools to grow and maximize their food supplies and sustain their financial gains, we are able to work towards food security and access that also protects our planet.

Do you or your company want to support WWF’s projects to protect the environment while addressing food security in the country? Reach out to us at teampanda@wwf.org.ph to become a corporate partner for nature or an individual donor.

 
Food shed in Zamboanga, Philippines as part of WWF-Philippines’ Food Shed Farming Enterprise project.
© WWF-Philippines
Farmers from Negros Occidental, Philippines present their harvests from WWF-Philippines' Food Shed Farming Enterprise project.
© WWF-Philippines
Project Buhay has trained hundreds of fisherfolk and community members on food safety to preserve the quality of their tuna and seafood delicacies.
© WWF-Philippines
Through the Project Buhay training, the community members were able to produce their own gourmet bottled squid.
© WWF-Philippines