The Department of Agriculture (DA) looks forward to harvesting over 20 million metric tons (MMT) of palay this year, despite the devastation to rice crops caused by the El Niño phenomenon and typhoon “Aghon.”

“We’re still optimistic because our target is there. We are aiming for that,” said DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Christopher Morales on Monday, stressing that the agency is doing its best to hit its 20.4-MMT palay target volume.

“But of course, we cannot control the external factors affecting our rice production,” he said, as he assured affected farmers of government assistance to aid in their recovery.

The assistance, Morales said, is coming from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, the National Irrigation Administration, the hybrid rice program, and government collaboration with the private sector.

The DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center’s latest bulletin said production losses due to El Niño have reached P9.5 billion from volume losses of 426,798 metric tons.

The total volume of crop losses due to typhoon “Aghon” was pegged at 2,586 MT, amounting to a value loss of P81.84 million.

Last month, a report by the United States Department of Agriculture forecast that the Philippines would emerge as the top global rice importer for 2025, with an anticipated 4.2-MMT of rice import volume.

For this year, the USDA has projected the country would remain the world’s largest rice importer, with an estimated 4.1-MMT of rice imports.

The Philippines was also the world’s top rice importer in 2023.