Recent adverse weather conditions have wreaked havoc on our food systems. Because of this, we will need to take a deeper look at how we grow and distribute our food to those who need it. In the short and long term, we will need to make such systems affordable and efficient.

Citing information from the Department of Agriculture (DA), let me quote the data from the Nov. 15, 2025 MB article by Dexter Barro, which stated that the agriculture sector suffered ₱3.17 billion in losses from the typhoon, leaving more than 34,000 affected farmers in 25,996 hectares of agricultural land. The latest figures are apart from the P914 million worth of damage from previous typhoons this year, as reported by the NDRRMC last September 2025.

Typhoons and adverse weather events are an annual threat to our living spaces, the damage to crops represents dangers to our food supply, which can affect prices of food even for those not directly affected by adverse weather events.

While such extreme weather events cause obvious disruptions, we all must reexamine how we manage the cost of our local food logistics even without floods and typhoons. This means examining the process and cost with which we transport food from farm to consumer. To give you an idea of the logistics cost challenges, a study from infrastructure firm Bluefocus Infrastructure Advisors featured in this Manila Bulletin article from 2024 may shed light on how much it costs to ship domestic cargo (https://mb.com.ph/2024/7/2/customs-duties-maritime-expenses-make-logistics-costly-for-local-imported-products-in-the-philippines-study-says).

Of course, the archipelagic nature of the Philippines means that food cargo from large production areas less affected by typhoons, such as Mindanao, needs to go through different modes such as trucking and maritime transport. The transfer of goods from trucks to ships can add costs. Yet despite this, we will need to find ways to lower the cost of transport.

That said, lower transport and logistics costs provide manifold benefits.

For one, this allows consumers to get the best quality and sufficient volumes of food they need at the least cost. Low food costs mean a better quality of life since food represents a significant part of daily expenses.

Lowering food transport cost helps our producers and farmers achieve a greater ability to meet the needs of the public. This can encourage them to grow more and potentially earn more. On the side of the majority who consume, this can ensure proper access to food, especially for lower-income consumers.

In seeking solutions to these concerns, i believe partnerships between the public and private sectors can help achieve this. Dialogues and summits across the producing regions, such as our food basket of Mindanao, and the biggest consuming regions, such as Calabarzon, Central Visayas, and the National Capital Region, can find ways to lower transport costs between these regions. The DEPDev and the different Regional Development Councils can lead these vital discussions.

The urgent need to lower food transport cost comes as we face not only weather and related disruptions, but also serious economic challenges. Food has to remain affordable and readily available for the majority who consume if we are to overcome these. Thus, the ability to produce and distribute local food to reach consumers, especially the poor, will be vital to sustain lives and keep local economies humming. In the long term, having affordable, efficient ways of producing and distributing food is one of the major ways we can promote economic and social resilience in the coming years.