Philippine agriculture chalked up a sustained increase in the first two quarters of 2007, expanding 3.5% from January to June with the fisheries sub-sector emerging anew as the year’s chief growth driver for the farm sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced yesterday.

In a press briefing, DA Secretary Arthur Yap said that in terms of value, farm production rose 5.19 % from P443.6 billion in the first half of 2006 to P466.7 billion for the same period this year.

 “There was a sustained increase in the total output of agriculture in the first two quarters of the year,” Yap said in citing a report by Director Romeo Recide of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). “During the period, the fishery sub-sector emerged as the biggest gainer with 7.19% more output this year.”

 “At current prices, the gross value of agricultural production expanded by 5.19% to P466.7 billion from P443.6 billion for the same period last year,” Yap added.

 As in the first quarter of 2007, he said that fisheries topped the list of gainers, with commercial fisheries growing an impressive 10.8% during this period. Municipal fisheries registered a 6.92% growth, while aquaculture posted an output increase of 5.77%, he added.

“Commercial fisheries were to bounce back this year due to favorable weather conditions, particularly in Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental and Masbate,” Yap said. “The municipal fisheries sector, on the other hand, also registered an increase due to more fishing in Samar, Leyte, Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Sibugay and Tawi-Tawi.”

 At current prices, the fishery sub-sectors generated P9.18 billion worth of gross output, up by 12.26% from last year’s record.

 According to the BAS semestral report, the crops sub-sector, which contributed almost half of the total production in agriculture, recorded a 2.63% growth during the first six months of the year, with palay production going up 2.88%, and corn, by 5.69% for this period at constant prices.

 In terms of value at current prices, the crops sub-sector expanded 2.75% from last year’s level, grossing P241.6 billion in the January-June period, the BAS reported.

 It bared that palay production went up to 6.73 million metric tons (MT) in the first semester due to expansion of harvested areas, especially in irrigated farms. {sidebar id=9}

 “Palay output went up in the major rice-producing areas of Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, Eastern Visayas, the Caraga Region and the MIMAROPA provinces of Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Romblon, Marinduque and Palawan during the first semester owing to government interventions through the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Rice Program,” Yap noted.

 For corn, Yap attributed the increase in corn production to the use of good quality seeds made available through the GMA-Corn Program and the sufficient rainfall in Cagayan Valley, which enabled farmers to plant early and cultivate in-fallow areas. 

Last update : 25-09-2007 12:12

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