THE country may be headed into a food crisis “without immediate and concrete measures to control [the] prices of oil and farm inputs,” the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) warned on Sunday.
Oil price shocks are not just a financial burden to farmers, but also a threat to the country‘s food security, the group said as the war in Iran, which has spilled over to the Middle East, enters its second month.
Skyrocketing diesel costs have forced farmers to reduce irrigation, directly threatening crop yields and health.
Marcelo Hernandez of the Nagkakaisang Magbubukid ng Malolos has cut irrigation from three cycles to just one. “[If] diesel prices rise even more, we will just be relying on the rain,” he said, noting he has fallen into debt from the last planting season.
Fertilizer prices have also surged, according to the KMP. Urea (a nutrient source for leaf and stem development of palay) now costs between P2,200 and P2,400 per 50-kilogram (kg) bag, while complete fertilizer sells for P2,100/bag compared to the previous P1,600 to P1,750/bag.
The Department of Agriculture and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority allegedly refuse to act on these issues, despite having the authority to impose price controls under Republic Act 7581, or the Price Act, the KMP claimed.
Harvest losses are another problem. Farm worker Divina Velasco of Malolos, Bulacan said that in the December 2025 harvest, she sold fresh palay for just P10/kg and dried ones for P15/kg. Her family harvested only 24 cavan (50 kg sacks) due to calamities — not enough to cover her debt of P35,000.
“In palay, [if] you invest P40,000, the earnings would still not be enough because you borrow [the capital],” Velasco explained.
Thus, planting for the next crop season becomes financially impossible. “All that is left for farmers is debt,” KMP said. “While oil prices rise, the cost of production rises, too. The government [also cannot] control the price of farm inputs. Only the price of produce is consistently low.”
The Marcos administration‘s measures are insufficient to avert a systemic collapse, KMP said, calling the P2,325 cash assistance under the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk program “too little and too late” to offset the spike in fuel and fertilizer costs.
“While big oil companies are making profits, the people are bearing the brunt of the crisis exacerbated by the war,” said KMP Secretary General Ronnie Manalo.
“If the government does not heed the call to remove the excise tax and VAT on oil and control prices, not only will farmers livelihoods collapse, but the entire country‘s food supply will also be jeopardized,” KMP said.
