6 Challenges Experienced by Rice Farmers in the Philippines

Rice is undisputedly the most important agricultural crop in the Philippines, with about 80% of Filipinos considering it a staple food in their diet. This precious grain is also responsible for the livelihood of millions of Philippine farmers, upon whose shoulders also rests the burden of guaranteeing food security for Filipinos.

But while the significance of the country’s rice crop remains undisputed, growing rice in Philippines provinces has become increasingly difficult for Filipino rice farmers. Below is an overview of the six most pressing challenges they face, as well as recommendations for empowering the Philippines’ rice industry and the small-scale farmers and agripreneurs that comprise it.

High Cost of Input and Lack of Capital for Rice Farming Activities

One twofold problem that plagues a large number of Filipino farmers is the high cost of key inputs for rice farming activities. It is costly to acquire basics like seeds, fertilizer, water, and pesticide, let alone capital assets like land and rice planting equipment or machinery.

In 2020, it reportedly cost up to PHP 47,000 per hectare to produce palay or unmilled rice. Oftentimes, the prospect of simply breaking even is enough for the average Filipino farmer. But of course, investments in the Philippine rice industry must increase in order for rice farmers to secure a better outcome.

Low Earnings Due to Unprofitable Pricing Schemes and Unmitigated Rice Importation

It’s no secret that Filipino farmers exhaust a lot of time, money, and physical effort to make each rice harvest possible. But for how much they toil on the field, many do not earn enough from their labor due the low farmgate prices of palay.

The rapid commercialization of the rice industry to include large-scale retailers also means that the latter can get bigger cuts of revenue than individual farmers themselves, and that they can offer imported rice for even cheaper prices than Filipino rice. This creates a chicken-and-egg cycle that continually makes the business side of rice planting more difficult on Filipino farmers.

Labor Shortages

In recent years, farms all across the Philippines have become short-staffed. Longtime rice farmers—many of whom are middle-aged or approaching their senior years—still have to put in hard physical labor for long hours because there are few young people around to help them in their profession.

To a great extent, it’s understandable that fewer people want to make a living as rice farmers when there seem to be better opportunities in other sectors. A lot needs to be done to motivate the new generation to explore stable and generative livelihood opportunities in rice farming.

Not Enough Dependable Postharvest Infrastructure

Rice farmers need fully equipped facilities in order to undertake the postharvest handling of their crops. The postharvest process includes a wide variety of methods for preparing rice grains for human consumption, such as drying, threshing, weighing, cleaning, grading, packaging, transporting, and storing rice inside a conducive space.

However, due to the country not having enough dependable postharvest infrastructure, rice farmers often suffer huge financial losses during the postharvest stage. The bleeding is typically caused by damage or spillage of large volumes of grain due to machinery or transport, or the infestation of pests like bukbok (weevils). This only highlights the need for new investments in postharvest equipment, transport, and facilities.

Problems in Farmers’ Irrigation Systems

Filipino rice farmers also need to account for irrigation, or the optimization of water resources in growing their crops. Farms depend on either national irrigation systems, community irrigation systems, or privately owned and maintained irrigation systems to water their rice plants.

Longstanding problems that pertain to the efficient use, availability, and quality of water include shortages of irrigable water, poor drainage systems, and lack of methodical practices for water efficiency. These must be addressed in order to strengthen sustainability in the rice production process.

Pests and Plant Diseases

Natural problems like pests and plant disease also hound Filipino rice farmers and their crops. Four of the most urgent pest and plant disease-related issues that occur on Filipino rice farms are leaf and neck blast, bacterial blight, rice tungro disease caused by leafhoppers, and rats.

Farmers can turn to pesticides and herbicides as short-term solutions, but they cannot be overly reliant on these. Overuse will contribute to soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution. On top of negatively impacting the rice yield, these types of pollution can also cause long-term health complications on the part of farmers.

Climate Change

Finally, Filipino rice farmers are currently grappling with the effects of climate change on their rice production. Rice yields are greatly affected by factors like soil variability and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns—all of which oscillate during the El Niño and La Niña seasons.

Even if the agriculture sector has no control over the timing and impact of natural disasters like droughts and storms, it can control the disaster preparedness and climate adaptation practices of its constituency. Stakeholders in the agriculture sector must be more proactive about helping rice farmers through the climate crisis and advocating for climate-resilient practices in rice production.

What Can Be Done to Improve the Situation of Filipino Rice Farmers?

These problems may seem dire, but there are several things that policymakers and their private partners can do in order to support Filipino rice farmers. They include the following:

• Sharing research methods and cost-saving technologies in key areas like irrigation, pest control, and climate change adaptation in order to upskill farmers and improve the yield of each harvest.
• Bolstering farmers’ financial resources to help them secure the capital they need.
• Engineering support mechanisms that keep rice farming communities alive, self-sufficient, and in touch with their modern markets, such as farmer cooperatives and fair-trade initiatives.
• Entering into agreements that allow more equitable revenue distribution among Filipino rice farmers and their partners in the value chain.  
• Incentivizing the patronage of local rice products from small-scale Filipino farmers.
• Advocating local agriculture programs and policies that are centered on the rights and wellbeing of rice farmers.

Thanks to the efforts of the country’s farmers, Filipinos from all walks of life can nourish themselves with the gift of rice. Let’s do our part to give back and to ensure the sustainability of our rice industry.