The Philippines is projected to produce enough rice to meet 84 percent of its domestic demand by the end of next year, according to a high-ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Agriculture Assistant Secretary U-Nichols Manalo said the country is currently hovering around a 77- percent level of rice self-sufficiency. “If the budget will be given to us, it will be around 84 percent level of sufficiency at the end of 2026,” Manalo told lawmakers during the budget hearing of the government agency for 2026.
Manalo said the government is targeting around 90 percent rice self-sufficiency by 2028, the end of the current Marcos administration, provided planned programs and budget allocations are fully implemented.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is requesting a P216.1 billion budget for 2026 to finance programs aimed at boosting rice production, supporting farmers, and improving farm-to-market logistics, a crucial step given the sector’s current challenges. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. highlighted that years of limited funding have significantly weakened the sector, which, despite employing one in five Filipinos, contributed only 10 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) last year, a situation compounded by underinvestment that has widened the country’s agricultural trade deficit as rising food imports are needed to meet the demands of the Philippines, which holds the second-largest population in Southeast Asia.
Rice production in the first half reached 9.08 million metric tons, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
This figure represents a 6.4-percent increase from the same period last year, showing progress toward the government’s annual target of 20.46 million metric tons.
Tiu Laurel recently revised the target to 20.35 million MT due to the lingering effects of the La Niña.
With Additional Report: the Philippine Star, Alden Monzon
