May 11, 2021

 

3.3% drop in Philippines' farm output in Q1 2021

The poor performance of the Philippines' livestock and poultry subsectors had contributed to a 3.3% reduction of the country's farm output in the first quarter of 2021 despite an abundant crop harvest, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on May 10.

 

The lower total output, driven by a 23.2% contraction in livestock production, is "bad news" as the country started the celebration of Farmers and Fisherfolk Month on May 10, according to PSA.

 

The Department of Agriculture (DA) noted that the "good performance" of the crops and fisheries subsectors was not enough to "pull up" agriculture growth in the first quarter. This is now the second consecutive quarter that agricultural output declined and is the steepest January-to-March period decline since the first quarter of 2016, based on historical PSA data.

 

In its quarterly report, PSA said crops production, which accounts for more than half of total agricultural output, grew by 3.3% on the back of an 8.6% and 6.5% increase in the production of palay and corn, respectively.

 

Fisheries production inched up by 0.6% from January to March 2021, contributing 13.7% to the total agricultural production, PSA added.

 

However, the PSA report showed that livestock output declined by 23.2% with hog production — the major contributor for the subsector - contracting by nearly 26%.

 

Likewise, poultry output fell by 7.4% with chicken production declining by 11.2%, PSA added.

 

"With this performance of the agriculture sector, we will continue to work much harder and further improve our services with countryside heroes - the farmers and the fisherfolks," Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told the BusinessMirror.

 

Dar said they expected the "poor performance of the hog industry" since their efforts to control African swine fever (ASF) and repopulate ASF-free areas have "yet to bear fruits."

 

"We will continue to implement our "Plant, Plant, Plant" programme that is mainly focused on increasing our basic food commodities like, rice, corn, vegetables, livestock, poultry, and fisheries-comprising more than 70% of our agricultural GVA," he added.

 

- Business Mirror