Philippine agriculture grew at a faster 1.2 percent clip in 2023 on the back of higher poultry and livestock production, increased fruit harvest, and record rice output as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Wednesday.
Agriculture expanded by only 0.6 percent in 2022.
“We are pleased that agriculture contributed positively to growth of the economy last year. But certainly we could do more,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel.
Agriculture contributed 9 percent to last year’s output expansion and employed 25 percent of the 49.7 million Filipinos in the labor force as of November.
The sector last year saw record rice harvest of 20.06 million metric tons, that helped trim rice imports to 3.5 million metric tons from 3.8 million metric tons in 2022, boosting farmers income. Financial and other assistance for farmers from the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund of the Rice Tariffication Law also helped boost rice output.
Secretary Laurel said that in line with the DA’s goal of modernizing agriculture, increasing food production, ensuring food security, and raising farmers and fisherfolk income, the agency will increase spending on farm inputs, post-harvest and storage facilities, and build more irrigation systems.
“Certainly, agriculture is a low-hanging fruit for the economy where we could do more by providing the right inputs, mechanizing farm activities, adopting new technologies to raise yields and lower costs, effectively putting more money in the pockets of farmers and fisherfolk,” the agriculture chief said.
The DA has budgeted P167.5 billion for the sector this year, higher by 5 percent than in 2023.
