Efforts of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s administration to modernize agriculture and assist farmers and fishermen helped the farm and fishery sector grow in the first quarter despite challenges brought by El Nino and by higher input costs.
The value of production in agriculture and fisheries, based on constant 2018 prices, rose in the January-March quarter by 0.05 percent to P428.99 billion due mainly to the strong performance of the poultry subsector.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the value of poultry production rose 5.9 percent in the first quarter to P68.76 billion, helping balance the contraction in value of crops, fish, and livestock produced during the period.
The increases were seen in the production of chicken, chicken eggs, and ducks. “Interventions and assistance provided by the government allowed the agriculture sector to fare better this time compared to periods in the past when we had El Nino,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr.
“The impact of reduced rainfall and hotter temperatures were evident in lower crops and fisheries production in the first quarter. If El Nino will persist through the second quarter, we’re caustiouly optimistic that the interventions we have taken will allow the agriculture sector to mend and return better results between April and June,” he added.
Farming and fishery provide millions of jobs for Filipinos and is the centerpiece of government’s program to ensure the country’s food security and to keep inflation in check.
Overall crops production– which accounted for nearly 58 percent or P247.04 billion of the total value of agricultural output in the first quarter–declined 0.3 percent due mainly to the two percent contraction in rice, a 4.5 percent slide in banana and 3.3 percent decline in coconut.
Those that tempered crops contraction include the 0.5 percent rise in corn output and double-digit increases in onion, coffee and sugarcane production.
