BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — Food security situation in the Cordillera region showed improvement in 2025, but two in every 10 individuals still experienced moderate to severe food insecurity.
This was among the findings of the 2025 Updating Survey of the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) presented during the regional dissemination forum in Baguio City on September 8, 2026.
DOST-FNRI science research specialist Apple Joy Ducay reported that the prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity in the region declined to 18.9 percent in 2025 from 21.8% in 2023, significantly lower than the national estimate of 32.6% from 33.3% in 2023.
Despite the decline, Ducay noted that the figure is not statistically significant and the result still means there are two in every 10 people in the region who continue to experience difficulty accessing enough food.
The region also recorded one of the lowest rates of severe food insecurity in the country, with the prevalence dropping from 1.2% in 2023 to 0.9% in 2025.
Moderate food insecurity means that although a household or individual can manage to eat every day, they must compromise on the quality and variety of their food, or reduce their overall food intake due to a lack of budget. Severe food insecurity, meanwhile, reflects a much more extreme situation where individuals completely run out of food and may go an entire day or more without eating.
Ducay said poverty remains a strong predictor of food insecurity.
The prevalence was also higher among residents of rural areas, she added.
Backyard gardens, food on credit help families cope
Families in the Cordillera affected by food insecurity turn to various strategies to make ends meet.
The most common food-related coping strategy was gathering food from their own backyard gardens, reported by 77.1% of food insecure households, followed by purchasing food on credit at sari-sari stores or other stores at 64.9% and gathering food from surrounding areas such as forests, roadsides and riverbanks at 61.8%.
Some coping mechanisms point to deeper financial distress, as 22.5% of households reported reducing adults’ food consumption so children could have enough to eat.
Also, for non-food strategies, borrowing money from relatives was most common at 71.8%, followed by looking for sidelines or additional work at 69.5%.
The survey also found that some households resorted to more difficult measures, including selling assets, pawning possessions, sending a family member elsewhere for employment and, in more concerning cases, 6.6% are asking their children to earn income.
Ducay described these findings as a reminder that while families continue to demonstrate resilience, some are being pushed to increasingly difficult choices just to secure food.
The survey results will help government agencies and local government units design nutrition programs, social protections, and emergency responses that target people who need government support the most, she said. **JDP/RGA-PIA CAR, Baguio City
