Following a sharp decline in palay production last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is optimistic that the Philippines will achieve a record-high harvest in 2025.

In a statement on Monday, Jan. 20, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said this forecast is credited to the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to restore the agency’s budget for rice production.

Laurel noted that the program’s P10-billion budget was initially cut in the proposed national budget for this year.

“We’re now hopeful we could do better than 2023,” the DA chief said, referring to the record-high 20.06 million metric tons (MT) of palay or unmilled rice produced that year.

With a restored budget, Laurel said this is essentially a “green light” for the DA to secure the necessary resources and implement the appropriate strategies to drive palay production to its target of 20.46 million MT.

Based on preliminary estimates, the rice output for 2024 is approximately 19.3 million MT—a huge drop from the previous year’s record.

The DA cited the dry spell brought by the El Niño phenomenon early last year and the crop damage caused by La Niña in the latter part of 2024 as the factors behind the decline in rice production. 

In order to reach the record-high goal in 2025, Laurel noted that the National Food Authority (NFA) will continue to intensify its rice procurement program.

Laurel, chairman of the NFA council, pointed out that the state-run agency purchased about 300,000 MT of rice last year.

He said this “strategic procurement” stabilized the country’s rice supply despite challenges in local production.

The secretary noted that the NFA’s purchase “effectively removed that amount from the market”, which he claims compelled importers to make up for the shortfall.

“This year, NFA will buy a minimum of 300,000 metric tons,” added Laurel.

Earlier, the DA reported that the Philippines hit a record-high of 4.78 million MT of rice imports in 2024. This is a 30 percent increase from the previous year’s 3.61 million MT.

The agency noted that this was triggered by a combination of factors, including lower palay production, increased procurement by the NFA, and a reduction in rice tariffs.