The time is ripe to step up local food production, some local farmers and food security experts said, even as competitive pricing and boosting demand from local consumers are stubborn challenges to overcome. Professor Paul Teng, a senior fellow focusing on food security at the RSIS, said he is hopeful that local farmers can meet the “30 by 30” production goal in 10 years. “But whether what we produce is affordable is a different question.” Jose Ma Luis Montesclaros, an RSIS Associate Research Fellow said the current tax could be a barrier to larger-scale utilization of farming technologies, and suggested farmers be exempted from property taxes on manufacturing machinery to lower costs.