Farm output growth slight in Q4
Credit to Author: Eireene Jairee Gomez| Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 16:15:40 +0000
THE country’s agriculture production only rose by 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday, with the Department of Agriculture (DA) attributing the marginal growth to the African swine fever (ASF) and natural disasters that struck the country during the period.
In a report, the statistics agency said the October-to-December figure was lower than the 1.9 percent recorded in the same period in 2018 despite output improvements in crops, poultry and fisheries subsectors.
It also said the value of agricultural production at current prices fell by 5.3 percent to P492.04 billion in the last three months from P519.58 billion year-on-year.
The crops subsector, which accounted for more than half — 50.6 percent — of total output, grew by 1 percent from 0.2 percent a year earlier. Palay (unhusked rice) production improved by 4.7 percent, but corn output decreased by 8.2 percent, mainly because of the reduction in harvested areas during the period.
Improvements were seen in coconut, pineapple, coffee, mango, sweet potato, onion, sugarcane, cabbage, peanut, cassava, eggplant and rubber.
Livestock production, which make up 16.2 percent of the total, slipped by 8.5 percent in the quarter, with all its components except dairy contributing to the subsector’s performance.
Poultry output, with a 17-percent share in the total, increased by 5.4 percent, as all commodities except duck showed significant growth.
Fisheries production recovered from the third quarter to rise by 3.4 percent in the fourth, with all major species posting increased output levels.
In value terms, poultry and fisheries generated P73.15 billion and P79.42 billion, respectively, while crops and livestock declined to P263.95 billion and P75.50 billion, respectively.
Farmgate prices fell by 5.7 percent in the last three months of 2019, with downtrends recorded in crops and livestock.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) blamed the sector’s fourth-quarter performance on the confirmed presence of the African swine fever in the country and on natural disasters, such as typhoons “Tisoy” and “Ursula.”
In a statement also on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that despite the slight growth, “[w]e will continue to build on the strong foundation in partnership with the local government units, private sector, farmers’ and fishers’ groups, and academe to catapult the entire agriculture sector this year and beyond.”
“We hope the agriculture sector will perform much better in 2020 with good planning and proper implementation of new and existing programs,” he added.