The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the significant drop in food poverty recorded in the final quarter of 2025 reflects the impact of sustained government initiatives aimed at ensuring food availability and keeping prices stable.
In a statement released Wednesday, the DA pointed to the latest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted by OCTA Research, which found that the proportion of Filipinos who consider themselves food-poor fell sharply to 30 percent from 49 percent—a 19-percentage-point decline.
According to OCTA Research, the improvement corresponds to around 5 million families and represents one of the most rapid reductions in perceived food poverty since the TNM survey series began.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the findings indicate that government programs designed to support food access are reaching households nationwide. He cited initiatives such as the “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” program, which seeks to maintain sufficient food supply while keeping prices affordable.
“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.
“This year, we are scaling up President Ferdinand Marcos’ PHP20 rice program to reach 15 million households, or roughly 60 million Filipinos,” he added.
Tiu Laurel also noted that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed that the P20 rice initiative be sustained through the end of his term in June 2028.
In addition, the agriculture chief highlighted the expansion of funding for farm and related infrastructure projects—including farm-to-market roads, cold storage facilities, food hubs, deepwater ports, rice dryers, warehouses and greenhouses—which have been approved by the President as well as both chambers of Congress. These investments are intended to raise agricultural output, reduce food costs and boost incomes in rural communities.
The DA acknowledged that self-rated hunger increased from 11 percent to 16 percent in the fourth quarter. However, OCTA noted that nearly 80 percent of families who experienced hunger reported it occurring only once or a few times, suggesting temporary or episodic food insecurity rather than long-term deprivation.
Economists said that while maintaining the recent gains in reducing food poverty will require continued support for food production and effective price management, the survey results nonetheless point to meaningful progress in improving household food security through sustained government action.
