Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has warned that global agriculture is facing overlapping crises affecting production and trade.
Tiu Laurel said the world is facing an unusually severe convergence of risks, as climate change, geopolitical tensions and recurring disease outbreaks reshape food systems and strain government capacity to respond.
‘I guess we started on a negative note. In a sense, we are in the wild, wild west at this moment. I think it’s also the worst time to be the secretary of agriculture,’ he said.
The department head said the increasingly unstable weather patterns driven by climate change, including repeated El Niño and La Niña cycles, have disrupted planting and harvest schedules.
‘These climate shocks are compounded by persistent animal diseases such as African swine fever (ASF) and bird flu, which continue to affect livestock supply and prices,’ he said.
Tiu Laurel also cited geopolitical disruptions, including the Ukraine war and pandemic aftershocks, which have contributed to supply chain instability and periodic export restrictions across key commodities.
He said these factors are no longer isolated events, but part of a broader pattern of global volatility.
‘As a businessman before, this is kind of normal. Sometimes exports are cut, there is ASF here, bird flu there, supply chains are disrupted. So, I kind of see this as normal, but a little bit extreme this time,’ Tiu Laurel said.
He said governments must respond with greater agility and a more commercially minded approach to managing risk.
For the Philippines, Tiu Laurel identified persistent weaknesses in production efficiency as the biggest challenge, particularly high costs driven by infrastructure and logistics gaps.
‘What we have to tackle is the low cost of producing products, which would involve infrastructure and logistics,’ he said.
While the country performs relatively better in product quality and marketing, Tiu Laurel said the cost competitiveness remains the key constraint in strengthening both domestic supply stability and export potential.
Despite mounting pressures, he underscored the continued importance of global coordination, saying the World Trade Organization remains a critical venue for dialogue amid fragmented and uncertain global trade conditions.