Agriculture production value contracted 3.3 percent year-on-year in the second quarter on the dismal performance of crops and livestock, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
At constant 2018 prices, the decline translated to a value of P413.91 billion for the second quarter of the year.
For the first six months of the year, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices is equivalent to a 1.5 percent decrease.
The crops subsector’s value of production dropped 8.6 percent year-on-year, equivalent to P220.04 billion and accounted for 53.2 percent or more than half of the total value of production of the country’s agriculture and fisheries.
Weaker production were registered for palay at 9.4 percent to 3.85 million MT from 4.25 million MT as well as for corn at 20.4 percent to 1.17 million MT from 1.47 million MT.
Reductions were also recorded for sugarcane, onion, tomato, mongo, abaca, rubber, cassava, eggplant, sweet potato, ampalaya, coconut, banana, mango, pineapple, tobacco, coffee and potato.
The only crops which showed improvements for the period were calamansi, cacao and cabbage.
The livestock subsector, which contributed 15.3 percent or P63.33 billion of the total value of agricultural production, posted a slight year-on-year decline in value of 0.3 percent.
Hog production weakened by 0.2 percent to 422.06 MT from 422.72 MT while carabao production fell 2.4 percent to 32.90 MT from 33.72 MT.
The drop in the livestock sector was cushioned by improvements in dairy, cattle and goat.
The poultry subsector recorded the highest improvement of 8.7 percent to P70.15 billion and which accounted for 16.9 percent of total agriculture output.
The performance of the subsector was pushed by increases in the production of chicken, chicken eggs and duck, with duck eggs as the only segment which recorded decline.
All segments of the subsector including chicken, chicken eggs, ducks and duck eggs posted improvements.
Chicken production reached 520.48 MT from 477.76 MT, an 8.9 percent growth while chicken eggs output hit 198.04 MT from 181.74 MT, a 9 percent increase.
The fisheries subsector posted a 2.2-percent increase in value of production, contributing P60.40 billion or 14.6 percent of total agricultural output.
Increases were recorded for skipjack, big eye tuna, yellowfin tuna, frigate tuna, vannamei, blue crab, fimbriated sardines, talakitok and alumahan.
Production declines were observed for tiger prawn, grouper, seaweeds, sapsap, matangbaka, mud crab, galunggong, squid, tilapia, milkfish, bisugo and tamban.
DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said despite the overall drop, the agriculture sector “has demonstrated resilience, bolstered by strategic interventions” that limited the impact of El Niño on crop harvest and the African swine fever (ASF) on hog production, particularly during the second quarter.
“In response to the El Niño-induced challenges, the DA has launched several key initiatives to support the agricultural sector. These measures include P14.54 billion allocated for Rice Farmers Financial Assistance, production support, farmer indemnification, and loan provisions. Additionally, the DA has earmarked P350 million for ASF vaccine procurement, pending Food and Drug Administration approval, and continues to promote biosecurity measures to control the spread of ASF,” de Mesa said.
He said the DA’s proactive approach aims to mitigate the impact of adverse weather conditions and strengthen the sector’s capacity to rebound.
“The support measures are designed to enhance productivity and support farmers, demonstrating the DA’s commitment to sustaining agricultural growth and stability despite external challenges,” de Mesa said.
Danilo Fausto, Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president, said additional mitigation measures are needed to curb the effects of climate change to the local agri sector.
“Climate change or El Niño, greatly contributed to the decline in crops’ volume of production affecting palay, corn and sugarcane. Effects of climate change is really difficult to control. Additional mitigation measures and more preparation than what was done should be put in place for future interventions,” Fausto said.
