The Philippine agriculture sector is set to emerge from a challenging year into a period of recovery and reform, with expectations of a record harvest and structural improvements in 2025, Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Monday.
Tiu Laurel, in his State of Philippine Agriculture Report, described 2024 as a “perfect storm” year, marked by an El Niño-induced drought, typhoons, volcanic activity, the onset of La Niña and renewed outbreaks of African Swine Fever.
“We are no strangers to adversity. What matters is that we have used each challenge as an opportunity to push forward,” he said, noting that despite the setbacks, resilience and reforms are starting to yield tangible results.
A significant achievement highlighted was the progress toward President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise of more affordable rice, with the P20- per-kilogram rice initiative benefiting millions of Filipinos in select areas through the expansion of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program.
The Rice-for-All initiative and a cap on suggested retail prices have brought commercial rice prices down to P33 to P43 per kg., contributing to a slide in headline inflation to 1.3 percent in May, the lowest in six years.
Support for farmers has also been reinforced with the distribution of inputs and machinery under the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), while increasing the support buying price for palay to P17 to P30 per kg.
The amended RTL will triple funding for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to 30 billion pesos by 2026.
Tiu Laurel also noted the intensified anti-smuggling efforts, with 18 firms blacklisted and over P3 billion worth of contraband agricultural goods seized in 2024, exceeding the previous year’s total by P1 billion.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is accelerating agri-infrastructure development, including cold storage, irrigation, farm-to-market roads, rice processing systems, warehouses, seaports and mega food hubs in Clark and Quezon.
The department is working with multilateral partners, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), for financial and technical assistance.
Market access has expanded for durian, mangoes, and avocados, while tamban (fimbriated herring) has gained EU Codex recognition, enabling broader sardine exports.
The agriculture sector grew 2.2 percent in the first quarter, with the DA projecting record palay (unhusked rice) production of 20.46 million metric tons and the highest sugar output in years.
