Paglinang (Development), Pagtutulungan (Collaboration) at Pamamahala (Governance): How Human Ecology Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines can help improve Policies on Food and Nutrition Security

INTRODUCTION

The food systems approach brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the way in which societies produce, process, package, distribute, sell and consume food. Problems associated with food systems are complex and pose a challenge for policymakers–whether it is hunger, malnutrition or issues in food supply. The difficulty lies in pinpointing the root causes of the problem when multiple factors are at play as well as crafting solutions in highly fragmented and bureaucratised governance systems. Food systems challenges in the Philippines are by no means small: for instance, the country ranks as one of the largest rice importers in the world. Most recently, the government declared a food security emergency as recent policies such as tariff reduction did not translate into lower costs of rice in this country. Another is that the rates of hunger have increased steeply from 24.4% to 35.6% this year. In the Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) done in 2021, results showed that one in every 10 pre-school and school-aged children are underweight. Among the poorest quantile, the rate is four in 10 for pre-school children and almost one in three for those reaching school age.. On two nutrition indicators, the regions with the highest prevalence of stunting and wasting of children under the age of five are the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM), Region IV-B MIMAROPA and Zamboanga Peninsula. Estimates show that poor nutrition costs the country more than AUD 13.1 billion a year or Php 496 billion, which is 2-3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

In dealing with these challenges, policy makers may benefit from a systems approach, defined as a “set of synergistic analytical skills used to improve the capacity of identifying and understanding systems, predicting their behaviors, and devising modifications to them in order to produce desired effects”. Systems thinking provides ways of bringing together different ways of knowing to understand and solve complex policy issues. Food and Nutrition Security (FNS) is also a useful concept in linking food security with nutrition security. It refers to people’s rights and access to sufficient and healthy food at all times–taking into consideration various environmental, cultural, economic and social contexts. FNS has five dimensions which include (1) agency, (2) stability [short term] and sustainability [long-term], (3) access, (4) availability, and (5) utilization.

In achieving food and nutrition security, higher education institutions (HEI) play a key role in developing evidence-informed and participatory policies. However, universities generally find it difficult to translate research into policies due to different institutional contexts and priorities, among others. Our action-oriented research funded by the Australian National University (ANU) Philippines Institute navigated into the questions of complexity, research to action, and cooperation as means of strengthening the contribution of HEIs to policy development in food and nutrition security. We focused on Human Ecology as an applied, solution-oriented and cross disciplinary body of knowledge. The project also crafted tangible interventions co-produced with stakeholders to advance engaged scholarship. In sharing major findings from the project, this policy brief answered the following questions:

1. How can a human ecological approach enhance policy development for food and nutrition security?
2. What are the roles academic institutions specializing in human ecology are playing in advancing food and nutrition security in the Philippines?
3. In what ways can policymakers effectively partner with these institutions to strengthen food and nutrition security efforts?
4. What concrete steps can Australian and Filipino policymakers take to foster and scale collaborative initiatives in this area?

HUMAN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY (FNS)

Human Ecology enables policymakers to better understand the complex connections between social and environmental factors that drive food and nutrition security challenges. By examining the interrelationships between people, culture, and the environment through a systems lens, this approach offers a more integrated perspective. Human ecology as an approach is holistic, action-oriented and is geared towards providing solutions to complex problems by employing perspectives from different disciplines and sectors.

From its diverse origins in the West, Human Ecology was introduced in the Philippines in 1974 with the creation of the Institute of Human Ecology (IHE) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. From then on, it spread to other parts of the country as there are now four Colleges of Human Ecology in Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU), Central Mindanao University (CMU), and the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) (see Figure 1). Several allied disciplines and fields make up Human Ecology institutions including nutrition, food science, community and environmental resource planning, social technology, human and family development studies, home technology, tourism, and hospitality management.

WHAT IS BEING DONE BY HUMAN ECOLOGY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS ON FNS?

Human Ecology higher education institutions have food and nutrition security-related initiatives across ten categories (see Table 1). Majority of them are engaged in systems-based approach by conducting research on food systems (UPLB) and linking nutrition to lifescapes and landscapes (CMU) as well as health, environment and agriculture for sustainable development (USM). Malnutrition-related research (NVSU, UPLB, USM) and partnerships with local government units (LGUs) on feeding programs were also done (CMU, UPLB). USM developed nutri-foods for emergency response while others applied food technologies to develop products like nixtamalized corn (UPLB), pastries (CMU), pineapple jam, honey ginger tea, local wines, vinegar (NVSU), and healthy and affordable snacks called as SMART snacks (USM). These technologies were used in extension programs with local communities to promote livelihood development for out-of-school youth, women and indigenous people (CMU, NVSU, UPLB).

Partnership building was also spearheaded between Nueva Vizcaya State University, LGUs and the Department of Trade and Industry (NVSU). Furthermore, UPLB is at the frontline of combating the country’s education crisis through the Dunong Program. This was in response to the findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOMM 2), which noted that malnutrition has adverse implications for educational and social outcomes. The persistence of learning poverty is a major concern—this pertains to the inability of school-aged children to read and understand simple text. Dunong seeks to address learning poverty through multifaceted interventions, including capacity building for teachers and nutrition improvement for school-aged children.

Capacity building on nutrition for local communities is also undertaken by Nueva Vizcaya State University. Meanwhile, Nueva Vizcaya State University also undertakes capacity building on nutrition for local communities. The University of the Philippines Los Baños’ longest public service program is the Barangay Integrated Development Approach for Nutrition Improvement (BIDANI), which has been providing capacity-building to village-level communities since 1978. Pending in the Philippine Congress is the BIDANI Bill which would institutionalise the program in all State Universities and Colleges in the country.

Human Ecology’s potential in addressing this complex problem is not fully utilised. Many of these initiatives are at the level of basic research, whereas capacity building initiatives are sporadic or project-based. The exception is BIDANI, which is designed to deliberately influence village-level policy making. Its original design brings together all four units of the College of Human Ecology, University of the Philippines Los Baños. Nutritionists focus on clinical and community nutrition while those from human and family development studies deal with household-level interventions. Social Technology majors work on the community - either through needs assessment, community organising, or social impact assessment. Finally, those from human settlements planning deal with the spatial dimensions of food and nutrition security. BIDANI has a footprint of an open and holistic approach to policy development in food and nutrition security that could be replicated elsewhere in the Philippines.

To further advance Human Ecology as a discipline, the Philippine Human Ecology Consortium (PHEC) was launched on 31 September to 1 October 2025 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños–supported in part by the Australian National University Philippines Institute grant (see Figure 3). The Philippine Human Ecology Consortium brings together all four Colleges of Human Ecology, one professional organization–the Human Ecology Institute of the Philippines, Inc., and two other state universities intending to offer the program. The purpose of the consortium is to bring all the human ecology academic institutions into one fold, which makes it easier to facilitate collaboration in education, research and public service. This network will also enrich discussions on how human ecology is understood and practised across different academic institutions, which may result in new concepts, methods or approaches in understanding and addressing problems related to food and nutrition security.

HOW CAN POLICY MAKERS AND HUMAN ECOLOGY HEIs COLLABORATE?

We propose three areas for collaboration between Human Ecology HEIs and policymakers in both Australia and the Philippines: Paglinang, focusing on human development, Pagtutulungan for collaborative research, and Pamamahala for policy-driven extension programs. Human Ecology institutions in other countries engaged in somewhat similar arrangements, such as the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council, Sociedade Brasileira de Ecologia Humana, European College of Human Ecology, and the Society for Human Ecology. Specifically, engagements may come in the form of the following:

CONCLUSION

Policy makers often struggle to address complex challenges like food and nutrition security (FNS). Human Ecology, as a discipline and approach, offers integrative, action-oriented, and solution-driven ways to tackle these issues. However, its potential remains underutilised in policy development, with higher education institutions (HEIs) mostly focusing on basic research and isolated projects. There are good practices such as BIDANI and, recently Dunong, that could serve as blueprints in pursuing sustainable strategies to promote FNS among Human Ecology HEIs. Our team proposed - paglinang or human development, pagtutulungan or collaborative research, and pamamahala or policy-driven extension programs to strengthen engagement with local policy makers and Australian institutions.