Philippine agriculture started the economy on a stronger footing in the first quarter, growing 1.9 percent, with better weather conditions and intensified government interventions helping the sector recover from a full-year contraction in 2024.
Data released Wednesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that crops, poultry, and fisheries all posted gains in the first three months of 2025, offsetting continued challenges in the livestock sector, which remained under pressure from the lingering impact of African Swine Fever (ASF).
The value of production in agriculture and fisheries, at constant 2018 prices, was estimated at P 437.74 billion in the first three months of 2025.
The first-quarter performance marks a hopeful turnaround after the agriculture sector shrank by 1.6 percent in 2024, including a 1.8 percent dip in the final quarter of the year.
Agriculture accounts for about 10 percent of the economy but provides jobs for one in every five Filipino workers.
Crop production rose by 1 percent to P249.61 billion in value, driven by rice and other staples. Poultry posted the strongest performance, jumping 9.4 percent to ₱75.22 billion, while fisheries grew 1.5 percent to P55.10 billion.
Livestock bucked the uptrend, falling 2.8 percent to P57.82 billion as hog producers continued to grapple with disease and supply constraints.
Palay production rose slightly to 4.7 million metric tons, but more notably, average yield hit a record high of 4.09 metric tons per hectare—the highest since the PSA began tracking the data in 1987. This improvement helped offset a decline in the area planted to rice and reflects increasing efficiency among Filipino farmers.
Higher local food production is also helping stabilize prices. Softer rice prices and slower increases in the cost of vegetables, fruits, and poultry contributed to a significant drop in inflation, which eased to 1.4 percent in April—its lowest level since November 2019.
The full-year palay production target this year is 20.46 million metric tons, which if met or exceeded will be the highest on record for the country.
