Manila, Feb. 6 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is scaling up climate-resilient farming for high-value vegetables such as chili, tomatoes and bell peppers, setting aside around PHP300 million this year to address recurring price spikes triggered by weather-related supply disruptions.

In a news release Friday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said these high-value crops suffer sharp price swings almost every year, with extreme heat, heavy rains and flooding disrupting production.

"This is a perennial problem-sometimes chili pepper is very expensive, sometimes there is no supply at all; the same goes for bell peppers and tomatoes," Tiu Laurel said.

"What we want is continuous production, year-round, whether it's dry ...