Gov't targets 3 pct increase in 2014 farm output

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Department of Agriculture (DA) said today that it is targeting to increase farm output by 3 percent in 2014.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the growth of the agriculture sector will be propelled by higher production of crops as well as livestock and fisheries.

For unmilled rice, the DA set a production target of 20 million metric tons (MMT) for this year. This volume is 8.45 percent higher than the 18.44 MMT the Philippines produced in 2013.

Typhoons slowed the growth of Philippine agriculture to 1.15 percent in 2013, from 2.92 percent registered the previous year, according to a report released by the DA on Jan. 22.

The DA said the crops subsector, which accounted for 51 percent of farm output last year, grew by a measly 0.9 percent. This is lower than the 4.14-percent increase in output posted by the sub- sector in 2012.

Last year's rice production at 18.44 MMT fell short of the government's target of 19 MMT for 2013.

The production of corn, another major crop in the Philippines, declined by 0.4 percent on year to 7.37 MMT due to damages caused by typhoon Rumbia and super typhoon Haiyan on farms in central and southern Philippines.

The DA also noted lower outputs of coconut, sugarcane, banana, coffee, and abaca last year.