AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. urged Congress to nearly double the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) coverage, warning the proposed P4.5 billion 2026 budget is “stagnant” and insufficient to protect Filipino farmers from production losses.
Laurel also called for an increase in the number of insured agricultural workers from the current 2.3 million to 4.2 million, which includes nearly a million additional rice farmers.
Laurel, in a statement on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, said the proposal aims to strengthen efforts to achieve food security and resilience by providing local farmers with a “safety net” against rising production costs and unpredictable weather patterns.
“Critical lifeline”
“Crop insurance isn’t just a financial product — it’s a critical lifeline. When typhoons, droughts, or pest outbreaks hit, insured farmers can recover faster and get back to planting,” Laurel said.
“Without it, many are left in debt or forced to abandon farming altogether,” he added.
Laurel said the proposed P4.5 billion allocation for the PCIC’s subsidy in the 2026 budget is the same amount the Department of Agriculture has received since 2022.
Additional budget needed
Laurel said this stagnant funding may “undermine” the government’s capacity to protect and assist Filipino farmers from production losses during calamities.
Laurel said to cover 4.2 million farmers, the agency needs about P8 billion more for its budget.
Of the 4.2 million target beneficiaries, 2.2 million will be rice farmers — an increase of nearly a million from the current number.
At present, about 1.25 million rice farmers are insured under the PCIC, but they only have a maximum insurance benefit of P20,000 per hectare.
The said coverage is equivalent to only a third of the estimated P60,000 per-hectare production cost for rice farmers.
Laurel underscored the need to prioritize agricultural resilience through the national budget to help stabilize profitability in the sector, sustain cropping activities and ensure a stable food supply in the country. / PNA