The Philippines’ local palay (unhusked rice) production may hit as high as 20.4 million metric tons (MMT) this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday.

“We’re now hopeful we could do better than 2023,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement following the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to “restore” the PHP10 billion budget cut for rice production.

The country registered a record-high 20.06 MMT palay production in 2023, before the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon, successive weather disturbances, and La Niña which took a toll on the country’s rice production in 2024.

“Ang target this year ay (Our target for this year is) 20.4 million metric tons. This is higher by almost 400,000 metric tons from the record harvest in 2023” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.

“Bukod doon sa ina-expect natin na mas maganda ang panahon ngayon, iyong mga programa na naka-set ngayon and iyong mga activities natin plus iyong mga (Besides the better weather conditions that we are expecting, the programs and activities set, plus the) intervention… the Secretary is very optimistic na we can achieve iyong ganitong (that we can achieve this) level of harvest.”

De Mesa said there are funds in place to boost palay production, including PHP21 billion for the rice program under the 2025 general appropriations and the PHP30-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which was tripled from the previous PHP10 billion from duties collected on imported rice under the amended Rice Tariffication Law.

He noted that they sought for an additional PHP10 billion for the rice program, which Marcos ordered restored.

De Mesa, meanwhile, said that hitting the 20.4 MMT palay production target will result to less rice imports.

The country’s rice imports hit 4.78 MMT in 2024 as local production dropped to 19.3 MMT, mainly due to the the El Niño phenomenon and successive weather disturbances.

“From 19.3 million metric tons na palay, aakyat ‘yun ng (of palay, it will increase to) 20.4 MMT. That’s more than one MMT. So that’s a huge jump. It will have an impact, of course, doon sa level ng (in the level of) importation,” he said. (PNA)