Mixed gains, challenges and the chase for resilience

The local agriculture sector closed 2025 with flashes of recovery, renewed pressure from climate disruptions and a policy landscape still struggling to keep pace with structural weaknesses that have kept farm productivity among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

- By ALDEN MONZON

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed modest growth across key sub-sectors, driven mainly by better palay harvests, stabilizing feed costs and intervention programs designed to modernize production.

However, the year was also marked by devastating typhoons, the emergence of new animal disease threats across the region, and global commodity swings that once again tested food security planning.

Rice rebounds, roadblocks remain

Palay output expanded this year after irrigation upgrades and increased access to certified seeds helped farmers recover from the uneven rains that hampered production in 2024.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) projects that the country's output of the staple grain will be 19.61 million metric tons to 19.89 million MT, lower than initially expected but still close to the 2023 all-time high of 20.06 million MT and will exceed the 2024 production of 19.09 million MT.

But even with improved harvests, the administration's long-promised P20-per-kilo rice remains far from reach.

As of Dec. 12, well-milled rice in Metro Manila still retails at P44.75 per kilo, while regular milled rice averages P38.95 per kilo, based on DA monitoring.

To bridge the gap between retail prices and its affordability pledge, the government has moved ahead with a nationwide rollout of its P20-per-kilo rice program, targeting vulnerable and remote communities.

The DA said 429 sites are now operating across all 82 provinces under its “Benteng bigas, Meron na!” initiative, with the next phase focused on expanding coverage to as many as 15 million households in 2026.

The push toward mechanization continued, with the government aiming to complete the construction of 27 new rice processing facilities by the end of the year as part of efforts to modernize post-harvest systems and improve the rice supply chain.

Livestock, poultry push forward