A Filipino developer has created a free, open-source web application that leverages artificial intelligence and government market-price data to help households plan affordable meals amid volatile food costs.

The app, called Ma, Ano Ulam? ("Ma, what's cooking?"), was developed by 27-year-old Chanryle Jay Cagara. It uses daily price monitoring data published by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to calculate and rank Filipino dishes based on their estimated ingredient costs.

"I want my website to show the real market prices of chicken, pork and other goods so I can help Filipinos cook affordable meals," Mr. Cagara said in a Zoom interview with BusinessWorld.

The DA collects prices at selected wet markets in the National Capital Region (NCR) between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and publishes the data online, which the app then retrieves automatically. The monitoring spans more than 300 ingredients, including rice, meat, vegetables, fish, fruits, salt, cooking oil, water, and sugar. Covered markets include Agora Public Market, Balintawak Cloverleaf Market, Mandaluyong Public Markets, and Pasay City Public Market.

Wet markets remain the primary source of fresh food for most Filipino households, making the DA's daily price data a timely input for budget-conscious meal planning.

Mr. Cagara noted that while NCR is the primary area covered by daily price monitoring, Davao is the only other region he identified as offering similar data.

Once the latest prices are obtained, the app uses AI to calculate the estimated ingredient costs of 47 Filipino dishes and ranks them by affordability. The recipes are drawn from Mr. Cagara's own meals, which he said he routinely prepares at home. The platform also provides step-by-step cooking instructions, suggested serving sizes, and nutrition information for each dish.

Looking ahead, Mr. Cagara plans to expand the recipe selection to more than 100 dishes in a future version. He also intends to add a pantry feature that would let users list ingredients they already have, allowing the app to exclude those items from its cost calculations. Additionally, he is exploring the incorporation of supermarket prices to make cost estimates more accurate.

The app has attracted more than 1,000 users since its launch in June, with Mr. Cagara targeting 20,000 users by year-end.

The platform arrives at a time when households continue to face pressure from food and other living costs. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. has said the Philippines remains vulnerable to inflationary pressures as a prolonged oil shock affects transportation, electricity, food, and fertilizer costs.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that inflation eased to 6.4% in June from 6.8% in May. The annual increase in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices also slowed to 5.2% from 5.7% in May, contributing to the overall moderation in inflation.

— Almira Louise S. Martinez