Nearly half of Filipino families produce part of their food —SWS survey

Nearly half of Filipino families grow or raise some of their own food, a practice most common among those food-poor and food-borderline, results of the Social Weather Stations survey released on Thursday showed.

Asked what part of the family’s food they buy from outside sources, 49% of the respondents said they produce part of their consumption — 8% said they produce a big part, and 41% a small part, while the remaining 51% said none.

The Social Weather Survey asked what part of their family’s food was not bought from outside sources, as it came from their own plants or trees, or the animals they tend, or the farmed fish they caught.

Home production of food was more common among families who placed themselves on the line dividing poor and not poor, with 61%. Majority of families that categorized themselves as poor, or 56% also said they produced part of their food.

The percentage of households that did not produce any of their food was higher among not poor families with 61%.

Total hunger was lower among families that said they produce a big part of their food at 11%, and among those that produce a small part of their consumption at 14%, than those that produce none of their food at 19%.

In terms of production, crops were the most common type produced across the country, followed by livestock, and fish.

The survey was conducted from June 25 to June 29, 2025, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide — 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±2.8% for national percentages, ±5.7% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Latest data available from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the inflation rate of food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at -0.2% in August, slower than the 0.4% in July. This brought the overall inflation rate to 0.9%. —AOL, GMA Integrated News