[Agriculture] Final Report on "Data Collection Survey for Post-Harvest Modernization of Rice in the Republic of the Philippines” has been published.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Southeast Asia and Pacific Department has conducted “Data Collection Survey for Post-Harvest Modernization of Rice in the Republic of the Philippines” from August 2024 to February 2025, and its Final Report is now available online.
(Click here to read the full report)

The Philippines’ agriculture sector has several key developmental issues including the high poverty rate among farmers and delay of agricultural modernization. In particular, rice as the staple food in the Philippines, is the most important crop for food security. However, the self-sufficiency rate of rice producers has remained in the 70% range since 2022 (Philippine Statistics Authority: PSA) as a result of the increase in consumption due to high population growth in the country, making the Philippines the world’s top rice importer since 2023. At the same time, the postharvest loss rate in the rice production process was confirmed to be particularly high at 14.5%, indicating significant room for improvement. (Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization: PhilMech, 2016).

Given the above context, the Philippine Government sought for Japan's cooperation in the areas of rice sector, particularly for irrigation, mechanization, and post-harvest, among others. With the Department of Agriculture (DA) as counterpart, JICA conducted a Data Collection Survey to examine the possibility of future cooperation in rice postharvest area. The Survey clarified causes of postharvest loss and issues that each stakeholder has been facing in the value chain. The Survey also summarized the potential direction of future cooperations.

While conducting the Survey, JICA had discussions with DA where Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. expressed his trust and expectations not just for JICA, but also for Japanese private companies with advanced technology.

JICA has been recently promoting Private Sector Engagement (PSE) in its operation, which aims to solve developmental issues and to achieve the SDGs through co-creation and partnerships with diverse actors. On December 19, 2024, JICA hosted the “Southeast Asia Co-Creation Roundtable” and placed “Agriculture in the Philippines” as one of the topics for dialogue with the private sector. A number of private companies participated in the session and discussed potential future collaborations. During the discussion, the participating companies also shared their business activities as well as the challenges they faced.

Based on the results of the Survey, JICA plans to continue discussions with the Philippine Government to contribute to strengthening and developing the agricultural sector in the Philippines. JICA will also continue to explore how the private sector could bring more development impact through partnerships with JICA.


Related link: (Japanese only)
【Private Sector Engagement（PSE）関連イベント】東南アジア共創ラウンドテーブルの開催について ｜ ニュース・広報 - JICA