Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
A HEALTH expert from India is urging the Philippine government to ensure enough food during disasters and focus on providing nutritious, resilient food supplies as the country braces for the Super El Niño.
This comes after the Philippine Atmospheric,Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said prolonged droughts and reduced rainfall by late 2026 and early 2027 mean the country faces a critical challenge in ensuring food security and disaster preparedness after it raised an El Niño alert.
Super El Niño conditions are expected to exacerbate droughts, disrupt water supplies and significantly reduce agricultural output, particularly for staple crops such as rice and corn.
Dr. Sanjay Kalra told The Manila Times that climate change and increasingly frequent weather-related disasters require governments to rethink food security strategies, particularly for communities displaced by calamities.
He suggested investing in crop varieties that can better survive extreme weather and preserving nutrient-rich foods such as tofu, vegetables and other protein sources in shelf-stable packaging.
“If you can create a tofu preparation that will last for three or four months in a sealed packet, that would help us. That would be part of food security,” Kalra said during the Novo Nordisk Southeast Asia Obesity Summit media engagement on Saturday in Makati City.
Citing experiences in India, Kalra said the conversation on food security has evolved significantly over the past decades because Indians shifted their focus from calorie intake to adequate amounts of protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.
“Fifty years ago, we were worried only about enough calories. Now we’ve crossed that bridge, and now we come to the quality of food,” he said.
Aside from this threat, the typhoon season also raises concerns about the scarcity of healthy foods provided at evacuation centers.
“While we are preparing instant noodles or developing them, we ask our developers to prepare high-fiber foods, which would be easy to do,” said Kalra.
However, he recognized that while these options are feasible, there is “no single answer” to the issue, given the severity of the circumstances a typhoon may cause, such as resource availability.