The sharp decline in the number of Filipinos who consider themselves food-poor was largely driven by the expansion of the government’s ₱20-per-kilo rice program, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Based on the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey of polling firm OCTA Research, the self-rated food poverty dropped to 30 percent in the fourth quarter last year from 49 percent in the previous quarter.

The 19 percent drop equates to roughly five million families who now perceive themselves as better able to meet their food needs.

The research firm said this “represents one of the fastest shifts in food poverty perceptions in the TNM series.”

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the positive outcome of the survey indicates easing pressure on households as food access improves and prices stabilize on the back of government interventions.

“These results show that our programs are reaching Filipino families. We will continue to ensure consumers have access to affordable food with stable prices, while helping farmers, fisherfolk, and other food producers earn more,” he said.

Tiu Laurel said the most influential of these programs is the ₱20 rice program, which plans to cover 15 million households or around 60 million Filipinos by the end of the year.

This month, the DA is expanding the program anew to the provinces of Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Mindoro, Palawan, and Bohol, as well as the cities of Zamboanga and Davao.

Low- to lower-middle-income families are in the pipeline of the program’s expansion, alongside even more partnerships with local government units (LGUs).

The program will be supported by a budget of around ₱14 billion, including ₱4 billion carried over from last year’s budget. This excludes the ₱9-billion earmarked for the palay (unmilled rice) procurement of the National Food Authority (NFA).

The DA sources rice for the program from aging NFA stocks, subsidizing the difference between the selling price and the set price of ₱33 per kilo.

The ₱20 rice program is designed to free up valuable storage space at the NFA to pave the way for the procurement of more palay from local farmers, while also giving vulnerable sectors access to affordable rice.

In pursuit of his campaign promise, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered the DA to sustain the program until the end of his term in June 2028.