PSA: Philippines misses agri growth target anew in 2019

The Philippines continued to miss its agriculture growth target in 2019 as the sector contracted in the fourth quarter of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday.

Data released by the PSA showed that the value of total farm production grew 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

This was a contraction from the 2.87% growth in the third quarter last year and the 1.9% growth in the fourth quarter of 2018.

"At current prices, the value of agricultural production at P492.0 billion was down by 5.3% this quarter," the PSA said in an accompanying statement.

The latest figure brought the year-to-date agriculture growth to 0.7%, slightly stronger than the 0.6% growth registered in 2018.

Full-year growth, however, was not enough to meet the Department of Agriculture's (DA) target of at least 2.0% for 2019.

For his part, University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Center for Food and Agri-Business executive director Rolando Dy attributed the decline to the spread of the African swine fever (ASF).

"Hogs, some 20% of agri, pulled down the whole sector. The complex impact of ASF affected growing and transport of animals," Dy said in a text message.

The PSA said livestock production, which accounted for 16.2% of the total agricultural production, decreased by 8.5%. Hog production also dropped by 9.8% during the quarter.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in August 2019 confirmed that pigs in the Philippines were found positive of ASF, which it blamed mainly on imports from China, and the practice of swill feeding.

A recent report by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), 97% of the reported losses in Asia due to the ASF from August 30 to September 12 were recorded in the Philippines.

In December, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the town of Rodriguez in Rizal has technically been cleared of the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, other subsectors of the agriculture sector reported growths during the fourth quarter -- crops up by 1.0%, poultry by 5.4%, fisheries by 3.4%.

Better 2020

Moving forward, Dar said the sector is expected to rebound in the first quarter of 2020, when the effect of the government assistance to farmers is realized.

"We will do better in 2020!" he said in a separate statement sent to reporters via mobile message.

"We hope the agriculture sector will perform much better in 2020 with good planning and proper implementation of new and existing programs," the statement read.

According to Dar, the outcome of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) is expected to reflect on growth in the first semester of the year.

"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," he said. — RSJ, GMA News