DA assures farm imports only during shortages, price spikes

AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told legislators that food imports will be authorized only to fill in gaps in domestic supply and during episodes of price instability.

“Imports are not our first resort — they are our last line of defense,” Mr. Laurel said during a House Committee on North Luzon Growth Quadrangle hearing on Wednesday. He said every import decision is weighed against impacts on farmers, consumers, and long-term food security.

He added that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is strengthening forecasting systems to anticipate supply gaps earlier and harmonizing data with the Philippine Statistics Authority to improve production planning.

“We will not normalize imports,” he said in a statement. “They will only be deployed when supply truly fails, prices spiral, and consumers are at risk. Our priority is simple: strengthen local agriculture first, and import only when absolutely unavoidable.”

To address climate risks, the DA is expanding greenhouse farming, constructing water impounding and storage systems, and deploying drip irrigation and solar-powered irrigation systems across key production areas, as well as crop diversification.

The measures target North Luzon’s over 2 million hectares of farmland — covering Regions 1, 2, and the Cordillera Administrative Region — which the DA identified as critical to national supply.

Mr. Laurel noted water stress remains among the most persistent threats to food security, particularly with a severe El Niño projected later this year. — Pierce Oel A. Montalvo