Farm output reflects storm impact, declines again in Q4

Metro Manila, Philippines - Philippine agricultural output contracted for the third successive quarter in October to December reflecting the impact of back-to-back typhoons, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday, Jan. 28.

It said the farm sector declined by 2.2 percent year-on-year. It expanded 0.2 percent in the first quarter, dropped by 3.2 percent and 3.6 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively.

This brought the full-year average to -2.2 percent. The Department of Agriculture (DA) had set a full-year target of 1 to 2 percent.

The PSA said the value of production in agriculture and fisheries in the fourth quarter was P483.58 billion.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan previously said economic managers anticipated a contraction for the full year after a string of storms in October. El Niño, which caused drought in the early part of 2024, also damaged billions of pesos worth of agricultural goods. 

Agriculture spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said the total sectoral damage in 2024 was 2.17 million metric tons worth P57 billion.

“Wala akong hawak na data, pero kung pagbabasehan ko itong data na ito, this is one of the biggest na losses na naitala sa sector,” De Mesa told reporters.

[Translation: I don’t have other data with me, but based on this data alone, this is one of the biggest losses incurred by the sector.]

Crops, which accounted for over half of the production, went down by 3.1 percent. Livestock and fisheries also declined by 6.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. On the other hand, poultry grew by 6.1% percent.

Based on PSA data, production of palay was 19.08 million metric tons, lower than 20.05 million metric tons in 2023 and 19.75 million metric tons in 2022.

The DA has set a target of 20.46 million metric tons of palay production this year.

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De Mesa also said the agency is banking on additional allocation and the P30 billion under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund for mechanization and seed components for the rice sector recovery.

In a news release on Jan. 21, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA has “achieved significant progress in 2024, but 2025 demands bigger goals and stronger resolve,” adding that he was “optimistic” for this year.