Manila: The World Bank has approved a USD1 billion loan to boost agriculture productivity and climate resilience of agrifood systems across the Philippines. The Washington-based lender announced that its Board of Executive Directors formally green-lit the funding for the Philippines Sustainable Agricultural Transformation Project (PSAT), which aims to support sector-wide reforms in the country.

According to Philippines News Agency, the initiative will help modernize agricultural practices, enhance food and nutrition security, and create jobs, benefiting at least five million Filipino farmers nationwide. "This is a transformative investment in Philippine agriculture," Zafer Mustafaoglu, World Bank Division Director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, said. "By putting in place the right policies, systems, and partnerships, these projects will make agriculture more productive, competitive, and climate smart. Farmers will be better equipped to earn more, withstand climate shocks, and bring safer, more affordable food to Filipino households," he added.

PSAT will introduce climate-smart practices, including improved seed and nutrient management, water-saving and greenhouse-gas-reducing techniques, and post-harvest loss reduction. It will also help farmers diversify, boost agrifood exports by making high-value crops and export certification laboratories more accessible, improve market access, and modernize logistics.

The project will also introduce a new digital voucher system to help deliver farm inputs faster and more transparently, linking public spending to measurable gains in yields and incomes. In addition, it will further modernize the Department of Agriculture by strengthening budgeting, data management, and procurement practices.

"This new initiative aims to deliver tangible benefits for farmers and consumers alike," said Mio Takada, World Bank Senior Agriculture Specialist. Farmers will see higher incomes through stronger agricultural productivity-driven by better seeds, increased mechanization, and more efficient fertilizer use-as well as greater diversification, improved climate resilience, reduced post-harvest losses, and growth in agrifood exports. Better use of public resources will further amplify these gains.

The World Bank funding commitment is structured as a Program-for-Results operation, a financing instrument that supports government-led development programs by linking disbursements directly to the achievement of specific, pre-agreed results.