MODE Inc. The study distinguishes food insecurity among coconut farmers, rice farmers, urban poor and multi-ethnic communities, by mapping vulnerabilities.
Vulnerability is an issue of risk.
A state of being arising from the level of risks confronted by individuals and households in terms of ownership or control of endowments. As Amartya Sen would say, poverty is not a question merely of resources, rather, it is the capability to gain access to, and benefit from, entitlements of such resources. The level and intensity of risks define vulnerabilities of individuals and households. Empirical evidence shows living standards in the Philippines are highly inequitable, a standard of inequality higher than most Asian countries except Malaysia and Thailand. Inequities in property rights, especially rights to land in rural and urban areas, as well as lack of education and skills among the rural people, are risk factors constraining the capability of some sectors of the population in overcoming food insecurity and raising living standards.