God is good! AGRI SECTOR GROWS 4% IN 2017; MODEST GROWTH SEEN IN 2018

By Manny Piñol

Secretary of Agriculture

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has announced that the country’s agriculture sector grew by 3.97% in 2017, the first full year of the administration of President Rody Duterte.

While the growth rate missed the set target of 5% for the year, it was a dramatic turn-around from the negative 1.4% in 2016, pulled down mainly by the disastrous performance of agriculture in the last year of the previous administration because of El Niño.

The gross earnings of the agriculture sector was P1.71 trillion which was 9% higher than the previous year.

Palay production went up by 9% registering the highest harvest in history of 19.3-M metric tons mainly because of the greater acceptance by farmers of modern technology and the use of hybrid seeds.

Corn production also increased by 10%.

Livestock and poultry performance was also positive, in spite of the Bird Flu outbreak middle of last year in Central Luzon.

There was also an increase in production of major crops like coconut, sugarcane, bananas, and pineapples.

While the fisheries sector registered a production decline of 1.73%, the earnings of the sector increased by 6% at P244-B.

The decline in production in fisheries could be attributed also to the intensified campaign against Illegal Fishing and the implementation of a 3-month closed fishing period in all fishing grounds of the country.

This year, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has been tasked for focus more on the establishment of small fish landings and post harvest facilities like Ice Making Plants, Cold Storage, Sardines canning factories and drying equipment.

The fisheries sector loses about 40% of its catch due to the lack of post harvest facilities, especially ice in the fishing communities.

The BFAR has also been tasked for bid out the construction of the refrigerated boat, to be called the “Food Boat,” which would pick up the catch of fishermen from the far-flung islands of the country to the urban centers.

All these improvements in the agriculture and fisheries sectors were mainly because of favorable weather conditions and the renewed enthusiasm of the stakeholders in view of massive government support.

We in the Department of Agriculture thank President Rody Duterte for the support.

Most of all, we thank God Almighty for the blessings for the Filipino people.

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