The Department of Agriculture (DA) remains hopeful the farm sector this year should still expand by as much as 2 percent no matter the combined impact of El Niño and La Niña on production.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expressed this optimism on Tuesday even as he acknowledged the target could prove challenging.
“Because we started with El Niño last January that ended in June, and now (we have) La Niña,” he said, noting that with the rains coming there will be more rain-fed land.
“As long as we have no strong typhoon, I think we should have more production,” Tiu Laurel told reporters in a briefing in Pasay City.
Last year, the agriculture sector grew by a mere 0.4 percent from a 0.1 percent contraction in 2022.
Tiu Laurel said the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has assessed the Philippine situation and projected rice import as high as 4.7 million metric tons this year.
This was an escalation from earlier estimates of 4 million MT owing in part to Executive Order 62 reducing rice tariffs to help ease its price at the retail level.
“I don’t think the lowering of tariffs will increase imports. There is no real bearing in my opinion. The only reason import will increase is because of demand, not because of lowered tariffs. If demand is low, even if you have zero tariff, importation will be lower,” Tiu Laurel said while dismissing fears of rice imports reaching 4.7 million MT.
Some 2.37 million MT of rice have been purchased overseas as of 11 July this year, the bulk or 74.3 percent equal to 1.76 million from Vietnam.
Tiu Laurel also plans to turn Kadiwa pop-up rolling stores into permanent bricks-and-mortar stores strategically located nationwide.
The broad plan is to establish 1,500 Kadiwa sites in the next three years to serve every municipality and city in the country.
“Our plan is to eventually become cooperative-run so farmers and fishermen themselves directly sell to consumers to enjoy higher income and pull down the retail price for consumers,” Tiu Laurel said.
