The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to protect at least three million hectares (ha) of land used to harvest rice in the country from reclassification, as part of its efforts to strengthen oversight on land conversion.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the DA will soon issue its updated guidelines on land-use reclassification following a five-month moratorium to review existing policies.

Prior to the lifting of the temporary ban, submission and processing of new applications for land conversion, as well as pending appeals, were held in abeyance.

This was in response to growing demands from urban expansion, which threatens the country’s production areas and food self-sufficiency.

Tiu Laurel said the DA’s new land conversion policy aims to introduce a stronger safeguard to protect farmlands, including the protection of at least three million ha of riceland.

“The DA will identify that at a later date. That cannot be modified unless by the order of the President,” he said on the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Food Security Forum 2026.

The latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) estimate showed that the rice harvest area for the April-to-June period may have grown by six percent to 1.03 million ha from 972,820 ha in the same period last year.

The DA also aims to usher in a rule that prohibits the conversion of farmlands with slopes below eight percent, according to Tiu Laurel.

He said converting these lands would be contrary to the government’s pursuit of long-term food security because these areas are highly productive.

“We will also maintain irrigated land, which cannot be developed unless ordered by higher ups or through the law,” added Tiu Laurel.

The DA’s certification for land-use reclassification is one of the prerequisites for the conversion of farmlands into other uses.

Under the Local Government Code (LGC), local government units (LGUs) are authorized to reclassify agricultural land, provided the land is no longer feasible for farming or has greater economic value for other purposes.

LGUs may apply for the reclassification of farmland if there is a need for additional areas for urban expansion and human settlements to accommodate current and projected population growth.

In addition, owners of private agricultural land, beneficiaries of the agrarian reform program, and government agencies may also apply for land conversion.