Philippines Prepares Steps to Anticipate Impact of Gulf Crisis on Agriculture

JAKARTA - The Philippine House of Representatives has begun to calculate the impact of the war in the Middle East on their agricultural sector. In a meeting in Manila on Tuesday, parliament reviewed the government's readiness to face the possibility of rising fertilizer prices, fuel, and food production costs.

According to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) as quoted on Tuesday, March 17, the meeting was held by the House of Representatives Agriculture and Food Committee chaired by a member of parliament from Quezon District 1, Mark Enverga. What was discussed was the government's reserve measures to help farmers, maintain food supplies, and hold back rising prices of agricultural products.

Enverga said the situation could not be considered far from everyday life. According to him, the turmoil in the Middle East could directly impact food production, prices, and the income of millions of Filipinos.

During the meeting, lawmakers highlighted the possibility of disrupting the world's fertilizer supply, especially if important routes such as the Strait of Hormuz are blocked. The concern is that if fertilizer is expensive or difficult to obtain, agricultural yields could also fall.

PNA also reported that Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roger Navarro said that tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the United States had already affected the world's energy market and trade. According to Roger, rising oil and fertilizer prices could disrupt global agricultural supplies and risk hitting affordability and food availability in the Philippines.

The Philippine government is preparing direct assistance and fuel subsidies. Assistant Minister U-Nichols Manalo said assistance would begin to be distributed in May to around 4.17 million farmers and fishermen through a program worth 10 billion Philippine pesos in the 2026 budget. Each recipient is expected to receive around 2,325 Philippine pesos.

In addition, the government has also prepared a subsidy of 5,000 pesos per farmer and 3,000 pesos per fisherman to help contain the increase in fuel costs. According to Manalo, the fuel needs for the main agricultural commodities in the Philippines are more than 505 million liters per year, equivalent to more than 41 billion Philippine pesos.