The World Bank has endorsed $24.5mn in grant financing for the Technical Assistance for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (TASAT) project, Manila Bulletin reports. The funding acts as a companion to a massive $1bn loan intended to pivot the country away from its rigid obsession with rice self-sufficiency.

This intervention is a necessary shock to the system for a sector that has effectively flatlined, growing by a dismal 0.15% between 2019 and 2024. By moving the needle toward high-value crops and climate-smart tech, the bank is attempting to dismantle a decades-old policy trap that has left Filipino farmers lagging behind regional competitors like Vietnam.

The grant will be managed by the Department of Agriculture and aims to overhaul institutional capacity for climate-resilient farming and reform the country’s uneven fertiliser subsidy schemes. It supports the broader $1bn Philippines Sustainable Agriculture Transformation (PSAT) programme, the largest single loan in the bank's history with the Philippines, which targets productivity gains for some 5mn farmers.

The $24.5mn package is split into four distinct tranches, including $8mn to improve efficiency in rice-based systems and $8.5mn to boost crop diversification and high-value exports. Another $2.5mn is earmarked for institutional strengthening, while $5.5mn is set aside for project management and evaluation through December 30, 2030.

The lender was blunt about why this is needed: the Philippines spends $2bn annually on agriculture, yet the sector contracted by 1.5% in 2024. Productivity is hamstrung by a "burdensome" regulatory environment and a subsidy culture that eats up 60% of department spending. Rice yields sit at just 4.7 tonnes per hectare, well below the 10 tonnes considered achievable with modern tech.

Financing is sourced via $14.5mn from the FoodSystems 2030 multi-donor trust fund and $10mn from the IBRD Fund for Innovative Global Public Goods Solutions. The project represents a final push to hit UN Sustainable Development Goals by the 2030 deadline.