DA sticks with farm growth targets

Despite extreme weather conditions

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) remains optimistic it will hit its target of expanding local farm and fisheries output by one to two percent this year amid extreme weather conditions.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the expansion in farm areas brought about by new irrigation systems nationwide, both traditional and solar-powered, would contribute to higher agricultural output this year.

Nonetheless, Tiu Laurel noted that hitting their production targets would not be “too easy” given the challenges brought about by climatic conditions at the onset of the year.

He cited the presence of El Niño in the first half as one of the major production challenges this year and the expected La Niña phenomenon this second half.

Farmers and fisherfolk incurred losses amounting to almost P10 billion this year due to hotter and dryer weather conditions brought about by El Niño.

“We are hopeful, barring strong typhoons, we will post higher (agricultural)] production,” Tiu Laurel said during the government’s post-SONA briefing yesterday.

The agriculture chief is also banking on the efficacy of an African swine fever vaccine set to be tested by the government to finally control or put an end to the devastation being caused by the fatal disease on local pig production.

The DA earlier maintained its palay production target of 20.4 million metric tons for the year.

The agriculture and fisheries sector grew by 0.4 percent in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The value of local agriculture and fisheries output in the first quarter remained relatively flat as subsectors reeled from the El Niño phenomenon, with poultry being the lone subsector posting higher production.

The PSA said the value of agriculture and fisheries production at constant 2018 prices reached P428.99 billion, about P200 million higher than the P428.79 billion in the same quarter in 2023.

The PSA said the value of production of crops, livestock and fisheries subsectors all contracted, but the poultry subsector registered an increase.

In an earlier interview, Tiu Laurel said he was “cautiously” optimistic that the agriculture and fisheries sector would perform better in the second quarter as a result of the various interventions that the government made against El Niño.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa earlier said the overall performance of the agriculture and fisheries sector would have contracted if the government had not rolled out its mitigating measures against El Niño.