LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Long prized as a staple in Filipino culinary tradition, purple yam — locally known as ube — is emerging as a key driver of agricultural growth and climate resilience for smallholder farmers.
Insights featured in the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) show that while global and domestic demand for ube continues to surge, local supply struggles to keep pace, creating a significant opportunity to transform traditional root-crop farming into a highly profitable enterprise.
Market demand remains strong, with ube exports generating $3.06 million in 2025 through sought-after processed products such as powders, purees, and traditional pastes (halaya).
However, domestic production reached only about 13,535 metric tons in 2022, compared with a national demand of 49,000 metric tons. Low baseline yields, seasonal crop behavior, tuber dormancy, and a shortage of quality planting materials continue to limit overall production.
To bridge this gap, agricultural frameworks under the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) are prioritizing crop resilience and diversification.
Key national initiatives, including the Gulayan sa Bayan Program, Project SAFE (Sustainable Agroforestry Farm Enterprise), and a coordinated El Niño Action Plan, support smallholder farmers by providing drought-tolerant planting materials, climate-smart technologies, and post-harvest innovations to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather.
Sustainable practices such as circular agriculture and multi-crop integration help protect farmers against climate risks while improving total productivity.
Beyond raw harvests, processing ube into value-added food products offers farmers significantly higher profit margins. Byproducts like outer peelings also serve as valuable raw materials for natural food colorants, maximizing resource efficiency.
Profitable crop
Researchers at the Institute of Crop Science under the College of Agriculture and Food Science at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) evaluated 188 yam accessions across the Philippines, identifying promising lines based on growth performance, sensory qualities, and pigment content:
High-Yielding Accessions: Field trials at the IRRI Central Experiment Station showed that the Villasis 2 variety produced up to 60.32 tons per hectare (t/ha), the highest among evaluated lines.
Aromatic and Consumer Favorites: Sensory evaluations involving 30 panelists identified Kinampay as the most aromatic and genetically conserved variety, while Mabitac 2 scored consistently high across taste, texture, and overall acceptability.
Top Selected Cultivars: Eight standout varieties — including Villasis 1, Villasis 2, San Felipe, Carigar, LA63, Mabitac 2, Batangas, and Kinampay — were highlighted for their superior agromorphological and market attributes.
Financial projections demonstrate the crop's high profitability. A regular-season yield of 30 t/ha at P60 per kilogram can generate a net income of approximately P1,432,000 over a 10-to-12-month period. Even off-season cultivation yielding 20 t/ha can yield net returns of around P832,000.
Through SEARCA's dedicated knowledge-sharing platforms and leadership from units such as the Education and Collective Learning Department-Training for Development Unit or ECLD-T4DU, these collaborative efforts continue to bridge academic research with government initiatives, advancing climate-smart technologies and propelling the Philippine ube industry toward long-term growth.