Instead of just focusing on food subsidies, the Arroyo administration should also prioritize improving agriculture production to stave off rising food prices, former President Fidel Ramos said Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News after returning from the Boao Forum in China, Ramos said the rice shortage in the Philippines is caused by many factors that cannot be solved through short-term solutions such as food subsidies.

"Food subsidies should only benefit the poorest of the poor. What we need is efficiency in agriculture, especially rice production and corn production and other grains. And therefore, there must be, first of all, sufficient irrigation in our rice production areas," he said.

The former president said that during his term, the government built the San Roque multi-purpose, hydro-electric dam at the boundary of Pangasinan and Benguet that can impound water enough to supply 87,000 hectares of rice land.

But the stored water in the dam has not been released for four years. "Why? There are still no irrigation structures and flood control structures," he said.

Ramos said the government should allot funds for the construction of irrigation structures, with help from Japan.

Agricultural infrastructures

Another suggestion is the immediate construction of post-harvest facilities.

Ramos said is one reason why Vietnam and Thailand are way ahead of the Philippines in rice production.

He added that the government should also build more farm-to-market roads to farmers.

Ramos urged farmers to use as much organic material as possible for fertilizer while choosing the best kind of rice seeds to boost palay production.

He added crop rotation could also help increase agricultural productivity in various regions.

Higher population, efficient consumption

The former president said the food crisis in China and India shows how more efficient consumption, or less wasted food, is needed for a country with a growing population.

He said the Philippine population, estimated at 90 million, is increasing at a rate of 2.36 percent annually.

"I am not saying that Filipinos should eat less, that is up to the person. But we discussed in a forum in China about excess consumption and how food is just being thrown out. We shouldn't waste water and we shouldn't waste food," he said.

He added that the Arroyo administration should ask local government units to implement the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997, which maps out government policy on food security.

Early this month, President Arroyo laid out a P43 billion masterplan for food security initiatives before she steps down in 2010.

Most of the commitments mentioned by President Arroyo had to do with attracting the farmers to increase their production. These include:

* P500 million for fertilizer support and production.

* P6 billion per year for large and small irrigation systems.

* P6 billion per year for farm-to-market roads and Roll-On-Roll-Off ports.

* P5 billion for research and development, capacity-building, and improving educational efforts for the agriculture and fisheries sector.

* P2 billion for hybrid seeds (for the remaining five planting seasons, up to 2010).

* P6 billion for certified seeds (also up to 2010).

* P2 billion for dryers and other post-harvest facilities.

* P15 billion for agricultural loans to farmers, most of which will be coursed through Landbank.