THE country stands to incur P75 billion in losses from the rice, corn, and fisheries sector if nothing is done to mitigate the impact of the global oil crisis, a senior official from the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
With the persistent disruption in the Persian Gulf that has jacked up global oil prices, Undersecretary Asis Perez said the agency also expects rice and corn output to plunge by as much as 50 percent this year.
“The value that we’re projecting to lose—assuming we don’t do anything, the cost of inaction—for three major [sectors] alone, including rice, corn, and fisheries is already P75 billion,” the official said during a Senate hearing of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform on Wednesday.
The official also noted that palay planted between May and June would be affected by the crisis, the yield of which will be harvested by September.
Based on the agency’s initial projection, the “best-case scenario” is for the minimum volume of losses due to the crisis to stand at 20 percent.
“It can even go up to a 50-percent decline in productivity, because farmers can’t do anything if there’s no fertilizer.”
The official noted that this translates to 2 million metric tons (MMT) of palay, adding that the projection also mirrors that of corn production. The DA expects palay production to settle at 20.3 MMT in 2026.
“The good thing about what we’re doing is we’re anticipating a catastrophe that’s about to happen assuming we don’t act.”
The DA has issued several interventions as part of efforts to cushion the impact of rising fertilizer and pump prices on the farm sector.
Among the interventions include P100 million fuel assistance, with 14,439 farmers and 15,669 fisherfolk receiving P5,000 and P3,000 each, respectively.
The DA would also tap the P10-billion Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFFP) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) set to benefit over 4 million in the sector worth P2,325 each.
‘Ample supply’
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. assured the public that the country’s fertilizer supply remains ample until yearend if inorganic fertilizer is blended with biofertilizer.
“As of the moment, the arrival of fertilizer is continuous. The only problem is the price,” Tiu Laurel said on the sidelines of the 2026 national food fair in Mandaluyong City.
“If we combine fertilizer with inorganic fertilizer then we have enough [supply] for the whole year if we use them as a blend.”
The DA said the country’s stockpile of the critical farm input stood at 8.11 million bags or 405,637.49 metric tons (MT) as of April 1 across six major fertilizer grades. This includes urea, ammonium sulfate, complete fertilizer, ammonium phosphate, muriate of potash, and DAP.
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