Agriculture sector projected to grow 4%

MANILA, Philippines - The agriculture sector is projected to grow by four percent this year, Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said yesterday.

In an economic briefing at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati, Yap said that with its stimulus budget this year of P42.6 billion and its FIELDS program, gross output of the agriculture sector is expected to expand by four percent, with paddy rice growth for the whole year would be 4.4 percent.

First quarter growth for the entire farm sector is projected at 3.95 percent; 2.71 percent in the second quarter; then moving up to 4.36 percent in the third quarter and up further to 4.81 percent by the fourth quarter.

Yap projects that full year palay production would reach 17. 3 million metric tons, with first quarter production at 7.4 million MT or a growth 6.44 percent.

Paddy rice or palay production is the biggest contributor to agri sector growth with an average annual global growth below 2.5 percent Yap said.

Aside from paddy rice, the other growth drivers are aquaculture, banana, poultry, and municipal fisheries.

Yap said growth will be achieved through FIELDS, export promotion and facilitation, animal health, and promotion of private sector and sovereign wealth funds investments in food and energy crops.

FIELDS stands for Fertilizers, Irrigations, Extension, Loans, Dryers and Seeds program.

While this year’s DA’s budget has been increased by 67 percent, Yap said “it wilI not immediately translate to an equivalent growth rate in output.”

Yap explained that “agriculture, or the business of growing crops and raising livestock and fisheries, is completely different from manufacturing, telecoms or mining, which are industries not susceptible to the high degree of risks due to pests, diseases and inclement weather.”