THE ongoing energy crisis is creating new pressures on Philippine agrifood systems at a time when many farming and fishing communities are still recovering from recent climate-related disasters.
In Catanduanes, several fishing and farming villages are still rebuilding their livelihoods five months after the onslaught of Super Typhoon Uwan (Fung-Wong). Yet as households work to recover, the supply and cost of key inputs needed for production are once again coming under pressure.
Freddie Padayao of the San Rafael Fisherfolk of Mayngaway in the town of San Andres had his boat damaged by flying debris when Super Typhoon Uwan struck Catanduanes.
Freddie is one of at least 150 fishers who received material support for boat repair through the Strengthening Anticipatory Action for Vulnerable Farmers and Fisherfolk before Emergencies, or Project SAVE, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
“FAO gave us, fishers, two marine plywood boards, two cans of epoxy, two kilograms of rust-proof copper nails and a spool of tough nylon cord. With our fishing boats repaired, we were able to go out to sea much sooner,” he said.
In addition to boat repair kits, more than 4,000 farmers and fishers have received cash assistance through cash-for-work and cash-for-livelihood support, helping restore incomes and rebuild productive capacities.
Agustin Villaranda of the Antipolo Farmers Association in the town of Bagamanoc has been farming for years. At 67 years old, Project SAVE’s cash-for-work intervention helped him recover and resume rice farming. “The assistance helped senior citizens like me recover faster. Remember to finish your rice after every meal. It took three months for us to produce it for all of you,” he said.
But getting back to work is only part of the challenge. Sustaining livelihoods is another. Catanduanes fishers and farmers are now facing a new pressure: rising fertilizer prices alongside fuel supply uncertainty and higher fuel costs affecting the entire food value chain, including irrigation and transport.
Rona Pagdilao, OIC Municipal Agriculturist of Sta. Praxedes in Cagayan Province, shared how higher fuel costs are already affecting this harvest season.
"Smallholder farmers do manual harvests to save up on fuel. Some farmers form groups and share the use of a single thresher after doing manual harvest," she said.
Meanwhile, fishers resort to reducing their daily trips to cope with the crisis.
"For fishers, instead of fishing around municipal waters four times a day, they cut their trips to two to reduce fuel expenses," she added.
These pressures are unfolding at a time when climate conditions are already adding further strain to agricultural production.
In Isabela, a province-wide state of calamity was recently declared following a prolonged dry spell that reduced water availability, damaged crops and heightened the risk of yield losses. At the same time, DOST-PAGASA has warned that warm and dry conditions are likely to persist through April 2026. Its latest outlook indicates that El Niño may begin developing from mid-2026 onward, increasing the likelihood of below-normal rainfall, prolonged dry spells and drought in parts of the country.
Higher fuel prices are likely to increase the cost of coping with climate stress itself, as interventions needed to sustain production under drought and extreme weather conditions such as irrigation pumping, water hauling and other emergency measures will become more expensive. This could delay planting, reduce productivity and trigger cascading livelihood losses.
As these pressures intensify, some households may also resort to short-term coping strategies with potentially harmful long-term consequences for natural resources and ecosystems. Rising fuel prices may push some families to shift towards cheaper and more accessible energy sources for cooking, processing and farm operations, including fuelwood, crop residues and charcoal. This is already being observed in some communities in Cagayan Province, where households have started replacing LPG with fuelwood to cut costs. In fisheries, higher fuel costs may also push small-scale fishers to shorten fishing trips and concentrate efforts in near-shore areas, increasing the risk of localized overfishing.
Over time, such coping strategies can weaken the resilience of agrifood livelihoods, deplete shared productive assets and increase vulnerability to future climate and environmental shocks.
“A single storm can trigger a financial emergency. Farmers and fishers often resort to borrowing money just to feed their families or repair damaged homes. Many are soon stuck in dangerous cycles of debt. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs can only compound the problem,” explained Ruth Honculada-Georget, Community Resilience and Emergency Response Adviser of FAO Philippines.
Amid the ongoing crisis, Project SAVE continues to deliver critical assistance to more than 4,500 farmers and fishers, at a time when support is needed more than ever to cushion the compounded effects of overlapping shocks.
Meanwhile, the Australian Government-supported Rebuild Cagayan Project distributed PHP 17,000 each in livelihood assistance to farmers and fishers who were previously impacted by consecutive typhoons in the province, part of which they utilized to purchase fuel for their boats and farm machineries, reducing the impact of the rising fuel costs.
“Today’s energy crisis is not a standalone shock. It is colliding with climate stress and exposing once again the structural weaknesses of agrifood systems that previous crises had already revealed. If shocks are no longer rare, resilience and modernization can no longer be treated as separate agendas. We must protect producers now while accelerating the transformation needed to build more efficient, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems over the long term,” said FAO Representative in the Philippines Lionel Dabbadie.
FAO’s 2026 Global Emergency and Resilience Appeal aims to raise USD 2.5 billion to strengthen agriculture in emergencies and disasters. Of this amount, FAO is seeking approximately USD 11.8 million for the Philippines. PR
