Agriculture output wilts in Q2
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine agricultural output fell in the second quarter pulled down by a decline in crop production, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Wednesday.
Agriculture contracted 1.27% in the April-June period. In the first half of the year, farm output sagged by 0.24%.
Crops — which contributed 47.42% to total agricultural output — dropped 5.70% last quarter, dragged down by decreases in production of palay (-5.82%) and corn (-8.73%).
The remaining subsectors — livestock, poultry and fisheries — all posted positive growth.
Farmers hit by El Niño, rice imports
According to the PSA, paddy rice production was hit by inadequate water supply brought by the El Niño dry spell during the planting months.
Meanwhile, prices received by palay farmers dropped 18.22% due to a spike in volume of imported rice in the market as a result of the rice tariffication law, as well as poor quality of grains produced due to effects of the drought.
At current prices, the value of production in agriculture amounted to P424.6 billion in the second quarter, 5.20% lower than the previous year’s record.
Agriculture production has historically contributed about a tenth to gross domestic product and accounted for a fourth of employed persons.
The government is scheduled to report the second-quarter GDP data on Thursday.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar has said he wants to grow the sector by 3%-4% in the next three years to achieve greater food security.
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