The country’s agriculture output for the fourth quarter of 2019 slowed down to 0.4 percent growth compared to he previous 1.8 percent in the same quarter in 2018 due to the effects of typhoons that hit the country before yearend, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The Philippines’ agriculture performance for the whole 2019 was flat at 0.7 percent from 0.6 percent in 2018.
The figure is far from the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) earlier projection of 2.5 to 3 percent growth for the last quarter of 2019.
Damage to agriculture brought by several weather disturbances including numerous typhoons, the El Niño phenomenon and diseases had caused a total of P16.07 billion in production loss in 2019.
At current prices, the value of agricultural production for the fourth quarter of 2019 is at P492 billion, down by 5.3 percent, and P1.741 trillion for the entire 2019, lower by 4 percent.
The crops subsector, which contributed the biggest share to the total agricultural output at 50.6 percent, grew by 1 percent for the quarter as increases in production were registered for palay, coconut, pineapple, coffee, cassava, cabbage and other crops.
Palay production for the quarter rose 4.7 percent to 7.49 million metric tons (MT) from the previous 7.16 million MT.
The subsector grossed P264 billion at current prices, a 10.1 percent decline from the previous year’s earnings.
The measly improvement for the period was attributed to the dismal production of corn which dropped by 8.2 percent to 1.65 million MT from 1.8 million MT.
For the whole 2019, the crops subsector grossed lower by 8.6 percent to P915.45 billion from P1.002 trillion in 2018.
On the other hand, the poultry subsector, which contributed 17 percent to the total agricultural production, grew 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter as all components recorded production improvements except for ducks.
For the period, chicken production grew to 526.1 thousand MT from 505.2 thousand MT, while chicken eggs went up to 154.2 thousand MT from 138.5 thousand MT.
At current prices, the subsector grossed P73.2 billion for the period, 21.3 percent more than the previous year’s gross receipts of P60.32 billion.
For the whole 2019, the gross output of the poultry subsector rose 6.3 percent to P246.45 billion from 2018’s P231.92 billion.
PSA data showed the livestock subsector, which shared 16.62 percent to the total agricultural output, fell 8.5 percent in the fourth quarter as hog production was affected by the African swine fever.
Hog, the major component of the subsector, dropped 9.8 percent to 597.5 thousand MT for the period from 662.7 thousand MT.
The gross value of livestock output for the fourth quarter plunged by 22 percent to P58.98 billion from P75.94 billion in 2018.
On an annual basis, the subsector’s gross output was down 7.2 percent in 2019 to P298.4 billion from P321.52 billion.
Meanwhile, the fisheries subsector, which has 16.2 percent share to the total agriculture output, increased by 3.4 percent in the quarter as all major species recorded output growth.
Major growth was recorded in Skipjack whose production increased to 76.2 thousand MT from 63.5 thousand MT, while seaweed went up to 532.1 thousand MT from 512.6 thousand MT.
At current prices, the subsector grossed P79.42 billion for the quarter, 7.6 percent higher than 2018’s earnings of P73.82 billion.
For January to December 2019, the subsector posted 6 percent growth in production value to P281.63 billion from P265.35 billion.
On the average, prices received by farmers fell by 5 percent from 2018 to 2019. Farmgate price drops were noted for crops at 7.9 percent and livestock at 6.2 percent, but the poultry and fisheries subsectors managed to post growth at 0.4 and 4.1 percent, respectively.
Following the flat growth in agriculture last year, William Dar, DA secretary, expressed optimism the sector will bounce back this year.
“Despite these challenges the agriculture grew by 0.4 percent, reflecting our strong resilience and resolve to rise above any adversity. We will continue to build on the strong foundation in partnership with the local government units, private sector, farmers’ and fishers’ groups, and academe to catapult the entire agriculture sector this year and beyond,” Dar said in a statement.
“The outcomes of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which only started in November 2019, will be reflected this first semester of 2020. We hope the agriculture sector will perform much better in 2020 with good planning and proper implementation of new and existing programs,” Dar added.
