Agri investments seen to propel Philippine economy

CEBU, Philippines - Investments on irrigation systems, farm-to-market roads, and post-harvest facilities will increase the contribution of the agriculture sector to the country’s gross domestic product, which is currently only around 10 percent.

This according to First Metro Investment Corp., (FMIC)  president Rabonni Francis Arjonillo during the recent investor briefing of the Bureau of Treasury on retail treasury bonds held at Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.

Arjonillo compared the Philippines to Vietnam which, he said, is a major exporter of coffee, rice and rubber.

In his previous pronouncements, President Rodrigo Duterte wants more resources directed to the agriculture sector to create more quality jobs accessible to a larger portion of the population.

Improving the country's weak agriculture sector can help alleviate poverty in the country, considering that 50 percent or more of the poor are in that sector.

Government data showed that the country's agricultural output in the second quarter of 2016 continued to decline by 2.34 percent.

The prolonged dry spell due to El Niño phenomenon negatively affected production of crops and the fishery subsector. These losses were not, however, offset by the increases in livestock and poultry production.

At current prices, the gross value of agriculture production during the period amounted to P379.1 billion, up 1.31 percent. In the first half of 2016, agriculture posted a 3.485 drop in production.

Arjonillo said if the administration of President Duterte can fulfill its promise to expand the agriculture industry, this will propel the country to a next level of development, possibly reaching economic growth of 8 percent.

That, if the current government also fulfills its promise to implement more infrastructure projects and attract more foreign direct investments, he said.

For his part, Gabriel U. Lim, senior vice president of BDO Capital and Investment Corp., said it seems the Duterte administration has a "bias" for taking action as quickly as possible, which he said is quite good.

Lim sees the country's economy doing well in the next six years considering the country's demographics and fundamentals.

FMIC, the investment banking arm of Metrobank Group, upgraded its Philippine growth forecast for the full-year to 6.5 percent -7 percent, on the back of strong economic fundamentals. (FREEMAN)