The President sought the assistance of women’s organizations on these two initiatives to help overcome soaring food prices at a luncheon with Soroptimist International of the Philippines Region in Malacañang.

While rice production has grown above the population growth rate of 2.04 percent, the country is still far away from self-sufficiency in the staple grain, according to the President.

"We are challenged to promote good nutrition. We are challenged to promote birth spacing because even if our rice production is growing more than our population, we have been importing rice since the Spanish times and we have not yet closed that gap in a sustainable manner," she said.

"And as you continue to help our women find their true strength in health, in the environment, in education, in human rights, and in economic and social development, I hope that in this trying times for the world, the Soroptimist will also take up the challenge of promoting good nutrition and birth spacing," she told the group of women involved in advancing human rights and status of women.

President Arroyo has promoted natural family methods, including spacing the births of children, but stopped short of endorsing artificial contraceptives due to opposition of the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mar Roxas expressed concern yesterday that the ongoing rice crisis may pose a direct threat to the viability of the food-for-school program.

"The early education years are a crucial time for youths, and we have to exert effort to ensure that students are given the chance to continue their studies. This will spell the difference for a child’s future," he added.

Earlier, it was announced that the program would be canceled in Eastern Visayas, affecting 28,400 beneficiaries in the region.

"While the government’s harping on its rice access card program, what we don’t know if that it’s also cutting funding for other programs. We’re taking away food from one mouth to put in another," he said.

"Rice access cards program are under DSWD and DA while the food-for-school program is under DepEd. Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?," he added.

Roxas urged the executive branch to cut public expenditures in other areas and increase revenue integrity in order to sustain the government’s food-for-school and other similar anti-poverty programs.