Bislig City has put on record that it wants to grow an ube industry. Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 2026-722, adopted on August 25, 2026, resolves "to pursue the development of Ube a.k.a. 'Purple Yam' industry in the City of Bislig." It was authored by Councilor Romeo F. Cacayan.

The resolution is short, but it lands at a moment when ube is one of the most talked-about crops in Philippine agriculture.

What the resolution says

The council's reasoning starts with demand. The resolution describes ube as a native Philippine crop whose flavor "has steadily gained popularity among Westerners in the past decade," and says that demand has pushed its value above other crops the country usually exports.

To get a share of that market, it says the city government plans a "community-centric agro-industrial development plan," in which local people are treated "not merely beneficiaries or laborers but co-investors, producers, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and owners." It lists five principles:

  1. People first. Identify community needs, skills and existing resources before designing any program.
  2. Local ownership. Organize farmers and community enterprises so they have an economic stake.
  3. Value stays in the community. Move beyond selling raw tubers toward processing, branding, logistics and market access.
  4. Build local capability. Make training, technology transfer, farm management and entrepreneurship core investments.
  5. Regenerative and inclusive growth. Improve soil, biodiversity, livelihoods and food security along the way.

Concerned city offices are tasked to coordinate with other agencies to start the work. The resolution does not name a budget, a target area in hectares or specific barangays.

The national picture

Around the same time, the Department of Agriculture (DA) moved to protect the country's ube supply. According to reports by Bloomberg and FreshPlaza published on September 14, 2026, the Bureau of Plant Industry suspended exports of fresh ube and ube planting material in mid-August, indefinitely. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. was quoted as saying, "We severely lack planting material ourselves."

FreshPlaza reported that the DA is pushing tissue culture, community nurseries and mini-set propagation to produce more planting stock, and that President Marcos approved a P300-million allocation for the ube industry in 2027. Processed ube, such as powder, jam and halaya, can still be exported.

Supply is the bottleneck. Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, a US Department of Agriculture report covered by the Manila Bulletin in June 2026 put national ube production at 12,483 metric tons in 2025, down 6.7 percent from 13,382 metric tons in 2024.

A Mindanao example

Closer to home, the Daily Tribune reported on October 13, 2026 that two farmer groups in Bukidnon signed a five-year, P35-million agreement with an agribusiness firm and DA Region 10. The deal targets about 1.5 million kilograms of ube a year, which will be processed into powder in Batangas for export to the United States. Farmers said the main benefit was knowing they had a buyer before planting.

That kind of arrangement, with a guaranteed buyer and government technical help, is close to what Bislig's resolution describes, though Bislig's version puts more weight on keeping processing and ownership local.

What to watch

For Bislig farmers, the practical questions are where planting material will come from, which offices will lead, and whether the city will put money behind the plan in its next budget. Interested farmers and cooperatives can ask the City Agriculture Office about any upcoming programs.

Sources: City of Bislig, Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 2026-722 (August 25, 2026), published at bislig.gov.ph; Bloomberg via The Star (September 14, 2026); FreshPlaza (September 14, 2026); Manila Bulletin (June 30, 2026), citing USDA and PSA data; Daily Tribune (October 13, 2026).