MANILA— President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has assured the public that the country has sufficient supplies of rice, pork, beef and chicken despite the threat of a strong El Niño, while encouraging Filipinos to grow vegetables at home to help mitigate potential shortages caused by drought.

In a media interview in Singapore on Sunday, Marcos said the government would continue producing as much food as possible to ensure adequate supplies, particularly rice, which he described as a staple food not only in the Philippines but across Asia.

“Siyempre, we’ll produce as much as we possibly can. Pero mabuti na ‘yung sigurado…Hindi mangyayari na maubusan tayo… Alam mo naman sa atin ‘pag sinabing food supply, bigas ‘yan. Ang ibig sabihin rice is food – is rice is food is rice. Well, hindi lang sa Pilipinas, and all of Asia. So, ‘yan ang tinitiyak natin,” President Marcos said.

He also reported sufficient supplies of meat products, noting that chicken production has exceeded demand, contributing to lower prices.

“I asked about pork products, about beef, about chicken. Again, the supplies are sufficient. And in terms of chicken, we in fact have an oversupply of chickens and we’re overproducing a little bit kaya nagbabagsakan nang kaunti ang presyo,” the President added.

Marcos said pork production also remains adequate, but warned that vegetables could be among the agricultural products most affected by the dry conditions.

“In terms naman ng pork, maayos naman. Ang production natin is okay. So food supply is assured. The only thing that will be hard hit will be vegetables kasi walang tubig. Tuyot lahat,” the Chief Executive noted.

To help address the anticipated impact on vegetable production, the President called on households to revive home gardening initiatives under the government’s Green Revolution program.

“So sabi ko, balikan natin ‘yung Green Revolution. Let’s encourage everybody. Naka-Green Revolution na tayo noon, a long time ago. Tapos noong pandemic, nabuhay ‘yung “plantita.” Ituloy na natin ‘yun,” said the President.

The Department of Agriculture’s Green Revolution 2.0 seeks to encourage Filipinos to grow vegetables in their own homes to help ease pressure on the country’s food supply system and supply chain.

Marcos acknowledged that household gardening would not fully address the anticipated challenges but said it could help supplement available food supplies.

“Let’s just keep that going. Get everybody to plant their own vegetables. Kaya naman kung – that will help again. It won’t solve the entire problem, but it will help,” President Marcos added.

The President said the “Super El Niño” phenomenon is expected to persist until March next year, potentially affecting agricultural production due to the lack of water.

Marcos is scheduled to return to Manila on Sunday after concluding his working visit to Singapore, which ran from Oct. 7 to 11.