Philippines, Cambodia seek to expand rice supply ties

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is exploring a partnership with Cambodia to secure a stable rice supply in response to potential challenges posed by the El Niño phenomenon.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) made the announcement on Monday following a meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet at the 50th ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

During the bilateral meeting, Marcos said the Philippines needs to revisit agreements related to rice trade.

“When I visited you in Cambodia last time, that subject that we were talking about. We were preparing for this drought. It’s now happening,” Marcos told Hun.

“It caught our attention. We really should look into it. Something that is necessary now. That’s the lesson learned from pandemic. We really have to be flexible in looking to our suppliers,” he added.

The president highlighted the importance of strengthening ties with rice-producing nations like Cambodia despite improvements in local palay production since the country continues to import rice, according to PCO.

The Department of Agriculture previously reported that the damage and losses to agriculture due to El Niño totaled P357.4 million, with Western Visayas emerging as the most severely affected region, incurring damages amounting to P127 million and impacting approximately 1,000 hectares of rice fields.

Agriculture spokesman Arnel De Mesa assured the public that the government is extending assistance to El Niño hit farmers in the form of credit and insurance.

The DA is also providing financial aid of P5,000 to rice farmers, along with a P3,000 fuel subsidy and various technical assistance measures.

Meanwhile, PAGASA warned that the worst of El Niño is yet to come.

During the remaining two to three weeks of the amihan season, PAGASA advised the public to anticipate actual temperatures reaching as high as 40 degrees Celsius, especially in certain areas of northern Luzon.