Science Information Forum on Rice Sufficiency Organized by NAST PHL
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The National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines, organized the Science Information Forum (SIF) on Rice Sufficiency: Price Rise and Importation Issues on November 26, 2014 at the La Breza Hotel, Quezon City. The SIF aims to inform the media on the causes of rice price increases in the Philippines and the possible effects of importation and/or trade policies.
Invited experts were Dr. Isabelita M. Pabuayon, dean of the College of Economics and Management (CEM) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Dr. Agham C. Cuevas, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics, CEM, UPLB, Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, Senior Science Research Specialist of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and Mr. Joseph Y. dela Cruz, Assistant Administrator for Marketing Operations of the National Food Authority (NFA).
Dir. Luningning E. Samarita-Domingo welcomed the participants on behalf of Academician William G. Padolina, president of NAST PHL.
Dr. Pabuayon and her co-author, Dr. Cuevas, presented their study on the analysis of the rice price trends in the country. She discussed the overview of the rice market of the Philippines as compared with the world figures, rice price trends, as well as marketing-related concerns. She said that issues concerning rice self-sufficiency, food security, and price stability were interrelated. She reported that the comparative rice per capita consumption in selected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries showed that the Philippines ranked below most of its ASEAN neighbors, and conversely, significantly higher than the global average. According to her, supply and demand lead to price formation, where price affects consumer’s willingness to buy. Further, she stated that food security is the bottom line, that is, food should be available, accessible, and affordable at all times. On the marketing-related issue, it was ruled out that no evidence of collusion was found among farm to wholesale and at the retail levels.
Invited experts were Dr. Isabelita M. Pabuayon, dean of the College of Economics and Management (CEM) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), Dr. Agham C. Cuevas, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics, CEM, UPLB, Dr. Flordeliza H. Bordey, Senior Science Research Specialist of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, and Mr. Joseph Y. dela Cruz, Assistant Administrator for Marketing Operations of the National Food Authority (NFA).
Dir. Luningning E. Samarita-Domingo welcomed the participants on behalf of Academician William G. Padolina, president of NAST PHL.
Dr. Pabuayon and her co-author, Dr. Cuevas, presented their study on the analysis of the rice price trends in the country. She discussed the overview of the rice market of the Philippines as compared with the world figures, rice price trends, as well as marketing-related concerns. She said that issues concerning rice self-sufficiency, food security, and price stability were interrelated. She reported that the comparative rice per capita consumption in selected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries showed that the Philippines ranked below most of its ASEAN neighbors, and conversely, significantly higher than the global average. According to her, supply and demand lead to price formation, where price affects consumer’s willingness to buy. Further, she stated that food security is the bottom line, that is, food should be available, accessible, and affordable at all times. On the marketing-related issue, it was ruled out that no evidence of collusion was found among farm to wholesale and at the retail levels.
NAST PHL Holds RTD on Role of Social Sciences in Health Care
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The Roundtable Discussion (RTD) on Health Beyond Health Care: Role of Social Science was held last November 25, 2014 at Hotel Jen, Manila. The RTD was organized by the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines through its Social Sciences Division (SSD).
This RTD was conducted in preparation for the upcoming Annual Scientific meeting (ASM) in July next year, which will focus on non-communicable diseases. Academician Michael L. Tan, focal person of the RTD and chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman, explained the involvement of Social Sciences in health care and the topic of the RTD, which is on behavior change theories in relation to women’s health and with focus on tobacco use.
Dr. Clarissa C. David, assistant professor at the Department of Communications Research, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines Diliman, discussed Behavior Change Theories in Relation to Women’s Health. According to her, when it comes to behavior change, beliefs matter more than knowledge, specifically beliefs about the behavior and about normative pressures. Women in particular, are affected by normative constraints in a culture or society. Self-efficacy is also an important factor in changing behavior, and women serve as conduits to children’s health because they take charge of their family, specifically their children. Further, she added that data collection is a significant step to get the messages on health across their audiences.
NAST PHL holds RTD on the ‘Demographic Sweet Spot’ In the Rise of the Philippine Economy
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The National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines (NAST PHL) held the Roundtable Discussion on Demographic Dividend and Employment on November 24, at Hotel Jen Manila. The RTD was organized by the Social Sciences Division (SSD) through Academician Arsenio M. Balisacan, focal person of the RTD and the government’s Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority.
The RTD focused on human capital as the most significant resource of our country as well as the concepts “demographic sweet spot” and “demographic dividend”. Demographic Dividend is the decline in a country’s birth and death rates and change in the age structure of the population that will result in accelerated economic growth. This will cause the decline of a country’s young dependent population,making room for rapid economic growth while the demographic sweet spot is the period where optimal numberof the country’s population would be in the working age and have few dependents.
Ms. Jessamyn O. Encarnacion, director of the Philippine Statistics Authority-Makati, discussed information about the country’s population projection, which utilized cohort-component method and other means of population change such as births, deaths, and migration. Based on the 2010 Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 3.125 children per woman, population is expected to grow to more than 142 million in 2045 even if there will be a decrease in the population growth rate from 1.73 percent in 2010–2015 to 0.65 percent in 2040–2045. Likewise, dependency ratio, defined as the ratio of dependents to the working age population, is also expected to decrease from 61.13 in 2010 to 48.15 in 2045.
Dr. Juan Antonio A. Perez III, executive director of the Commission on Population (POPCOM), discussed the demography aspect of the demographic dividend. Dr. Perez enumerated the stages of the Demographic Transition Model and stated that ‘demographic sweet spot’ will happen when these three events happens simultaneously: decrease in dependency ratio, increase in proportion of a productive working age, and when fertility declines.