FOOD INSECURITY AND VULNERABILITY INFORMATION AND MAPPING SYSTEM (FIVIMS)

 

Identifying Food Insecure and Vulnerable Areas in the Philippines through FIVIMS

The estare:ablishment of the Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and Mapping Systems (FIVIMS) in the Philippines facilitated the identification of provinces which were food insecure and vulnerable, where they were located and they were food insecure and vulnerable, where they were located and why they were food insecure or vulnerable. The use of the 12 FIVIMS indicators in identifying these provinces proves that food insecurity does not exist in a single dimension but rather in a cross-section of dimensions that include socio-economic, nutrition, health and sanitation aspects. The 12 FIVIMS core indicators:

1. Ratio of Per Capita Expenditure per Per Capita Income

2. Poverty Incidence

3. Median Family Income

4. Food Expenditure per Total Expenditure

5. Cereal Expenditure per Food Expenditure

6. Percentage of Households with Safe Water

7. Percentage of Families with Working Children, 5-17 years old

8. Unemployment Rate

9. Cohort Survival Rate, Elementary

10. Percentage of Underweight Children, 0-5 years old

11. Percentage of Underweight Adults, BMI<18.5 kg/m2

12. Percentage of Agricultural Land under Tenancy

 

The findings of this study showed that food insecurity in the Philippines is prevalent in 49 provinces (63.6%) in varying degrees, with 38 provinces as Vulnerable (cluster 3), 8 provinces as Very Vulnerable (cluster 4), and 3 provinces as Very Very Vulnerable (cluster 5). This translates to 6 in every 10 provinces in the country classified as food insecure and vulnerable. This condition is more alarming knowing that 7 out of 10 households in the country are food insecure based on the findings of the National Nutrition Survey (FNRI, 2003). Only 18 provinces (23.4%) and 10 provinces (13.0%) were Not Vulnerable (cluster 1) and Less Vulnerable (cluster 2), respectively. Table 1.

 

Based on the characterization of the cluster using the 12 FIVIMS indicators, provinces in Clusters 4 and 5 are areas for concern since they have the highest number of income-poor households; lowest family income resulting in high expenditure on food, particularly on cereals; lowest access to safe water; highest prevalence of underweight among children 0-5 years old and adults; highest agriculture land under tenancy and highest percentage of families with working children; and low elementary cohort survival rate. Island group-wise, Luzon had the most number of provinces belonging to Clusters 1 and 2 making this island group better-off than Visayas and Mindanao. Mindanao had the most number of provinces in Clusters 4 & 5 compared with the other island groups which make Mindanao a special area of concern.

 

The 5-cluster grouping showed significant difference between groups on all of the 12 FIVIMS indicators except ratio of per capita expenditure to per capita income, percentage of underweight adults and percentage of agricultural land under tenancy. This shows that at least one of the cluster groups differs from the others except on the 3 indicators mentioned where characteristics of the 5 clusters were relatively the same across groups. In general, results showed a worsening trend as food insecurity and vulnerability condition worsens across the 12 indicators of Philippine FIVIMS.

 

This study also revealed that vulnerable provinces have higher prevalence of underweight both among children, 0-5 years old and adults. This is supported by the negative relationship of underweight among children with median family income and poverty incidence as well as the linear relationship between underweight child with underweight adult. Thus, findings of this study are consistent with previous studies that the most obvious sign of hunger and food insecurity is poor growth and/or poor weight status of adults.

 

It is therefore recommended that policy makers and program planners use the results of this study as basis for policy formulation, prioritizing areas for interventions and resource allocation particularly targeting the Vulnerable (cluster 3), Very Vulnerable (cluster 4), and Very Very Vulnerable (cluster 5) provinces. It is also recommended that government, non-government organizations and the business sector use these results for identifying and locating programs and projects to address hunger and food insecurity in the country.

 

In October 2005, the Food for School Program, a food subsidy package for young learners who belong to poor families, was recognized as a concrete step to address hunger and malnutrition among school children and pre-school children and their families. The Vulnerable areas (Clusters 3, 4 and 5) identified by FIVIMS were used as basis in identifying the 55 target provinces for the said program, along with the other provinces identified by the Council for the Welfare of Children and the National Anti-Poverty Commission as well as the Early Childhood Care and Development Program convergence areas and selected barangays in Metro Manila.

 

The next steps for FIVIMS Philippines for 2006 are as follows: (1) analysis of FIVIMS indicators using updated data set, (2) identify and test reliability of sensitive indicators, (3) develop newsletter, (4) develop FIVIMS website, and (5) upload results to NNC and FAO websites.

 

Table 1. Distribution of provinces by Cluster Groups and vulnerability category

Cluster No./ Category	No. of Areas	Provinces involved
Cluster 1 Not Vulnerable (NV)	10	Region 1 Ilocos Norte Ilocos Sur Region 2 Batanes Quirino MIMAROPA Oriental Mindoro	CALABARZON Batangas Cavite Laguna Rizal Region 3 Aurora Bataan Bulacan Pampanga Tarlac	Region 7 Cebu Siquijor Region 8 Biliran Region 10 Misamis Oriental
Cluster 2 Less Vulnerable (LV)	18	Region 1 Pangasinan CAR Benguet Kalinga	Region 2 Cagayan Isabela Nueva Vizcaya Region 3 Nueva Ecija Zambales	Region 6 Guimaras Region 11 Davao Oriental
Cluster 3 Vulnerable (V)	38	Region 1 La Union CAR Abra Ifugao Mountain Province CALABARZON Quezon MIMAROPA Marinduque Occ. Mindoro Palawan Romblon Region 5 Albay Camarines Norte Camarines Sur Catanduanes Sorsogon	Region 6 Aklan Antique Iloilo Negros Occidental Region 7 Bohol Region 8 Leyte Eastern Samar Northern Samar Samar Southern Leyte Region 9 Zamboanga del Sur	Region 10 Camiguin Misamis Occidental Lanao del Norte Region 11 Davao (del Norte) Davao del Sur Region 12 Cotabato Sarangani South Cotabato Sultan Kudarat CARAGA Agusan del Norte Agusan del Sur Surigao del Norte Surigao del Sur
Cluster 4 Very Vulnerable (VV)	8	CAR Apayao Region 6 Capiz	Region 7 Negros Oriental Region 9 Zamboanga del Norte Region 10 Bukidnon	ARMM Lanao del Sur Maguindanao Basilan
Cluster 5 Very, Very Vulnerable (VVV)	3	Region 5 Masbate	ARMM Sulu Tawi-Tawi

 

For further information:

Ms. Arlene R. Reario
Chief, Nutrition Surveillane Division
8435824