PALAY production in Western Visayas saw a steady climb in 2025, reaching a total of 1,485,758 metric tons (MT), according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This represents a 1.5 percent increase from the 1,463,497 MT recorded in 2024.
The growth was primarily driven by a surge in irrigated farm yields, which offset a decline in rainfed production. Irrigated palay output jumped by 12.6 percent, rising to 690,616 MT from the previous year’s 613,342 MT. Rainfed palay production, meanwhile, dipped by 6.5 percent, falling to 795,142 MT compared to 850,155 MT in 2024.
PSA data also showed that the total land area harvested for palay expanded by 3.6 percent, totaling 471,756 hectares compared to 455,553 hectares in the previous year. Irrigated area saw a significant 14.0 percent increase, reaching 200,210 hectares, while rainfed area contracted by 3.0 percent, dropping to 271,546 hectares.
Meanwhile, Iloilo province made the biggest contribution to the region’s total palay production last year. It remained the “rice granary” of Western Visayas, accounting for more than half, or 56.4 percent of the output, producing 837,852 MT of palay.
Capiz came in second at 21.7 percent (321,674 MT), followed by Antique (13.5 percent), Aklan (4.9 percent), and Guimaras (3.5 percent).
Iloilo also dominated the regional share of harvested area. It contributed 2.3 percentage points to the region’s overall 3.6% growth in harvest area, expanding its coverage from 255,422 hectares to 266,109 hectares.
Other provinces also contributed to the growth in harvested area, with Antique adding 0.7 percentage points, followed by Aklan (0.3), and both Capiz and Guimaras (0.1 each).
In terms of regional distribution, Iloilo accounted for the largest share of the total area harvested at 56.4 percent. Capiz and Antique followed with shares of 20.9 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively./PN
