DA: Decline in food poverty linked to rice program

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of Agriculture (DA) linked the sharp decline in food poverty in the fourth quarter of 2025 to the expansion of government rice programs and other food supply interventions.

Citing the latest OCTA Tugon ng Masa Survey, the DA said in a press release self-rated food poverty fell by 19 percentage points, from 49 percent in the third quarter to 30 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 – equivalent to about five million families who no longer consider themselves food-poor.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. yesterday said the findings indicate the impact of sustained measures to ensure food availability and price stability.

“We will continue to ensure consumers have access to affordable food with stable prices, while helping farmers, fisherfolk and other food producers earn more,” Tiu Laurel said, adding that the P20 rice program is being expanded to cover 15 million households, or about 60 million Filipinos.

The P20 rice program is set to continue until June 2028.

Tiu Laurel said that a higher budget was approved for farm and related infrastructure, including farm-to-market roads, cold storage facilities, food hubs, deepwater ports, rice dryers, warehouses and greenhouses, aimed at boosting production, lowering food costs and increasing rural incomes.

The OCTA survey showed a sharp decline in self-rated overall poverty, which dropped by 17 percentage points from 54 percent to 37 percent quarter-on-quarter.

OCTA estimates this represents about 4.5 million families who no longer identify as poor, marking the largest single-quarter decline in the survey series.

Self-rated hunger increased from 11 percent to 16 percent, but OCTA noted that nearly 80 percent of affected households experienced hunger only once or a few times, indicating short-term or episodic food stress rather than chronic hunger.

Analysts attributed improvements in food poverty to programs that stabilize supply and prices, especially the P20-a-kilo rice initiative, the DA said.

Economists said sustaining the gains would require continued support for production and effective price management, but noted that the survey signals progress in reducing food poverty.