PH's farm, fisheries production down by 3.7% in third quarter

The country's farm and fisheries production value went down by 3.7% year-on-year to P397.43 billion for the third quarter, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.

The DA, in a statement, said that the decline was due to the adverse weather and the lingering impact of African Swine Fever on hog production.

Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the DA said the value of palay production in the third quarter dropped by 12.3% year-on-year, resulting to a 5.1% decline in overall crop output, totaling P211.62 billion.

Crops accounted for 53% of the total value of production, while livestock contributed around 16%. The value of livestock output fell by 6.7% to ?61.67 billion.

Meanwhile, hog production—a major contributor to the livestock subsector—declined by 8%.

The fisheries subsector's production value, on the other hand, decreased by 5.5% year-on-year to P55.48 billion in the third quarter.

“Undeniably, the combined effects of El Niño and La Niña weighed down palay production, a major contributor to the crop sector, which accounts for more than half of the value of agricultural and fisheries output," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.

“We're implementing changes to the rice cropping calendar and building infrastructure like water impounding dams to mitigate the impact of climate change on the farming sector,” he added.

Tiu Laurel, however, said that there are increases in certain areas such as the 1.3% increase in the value of corn production and a 5.8 % rise in poultry output value.

The value of poultry production reached ?68.66 billion during the quarter.

The DA chief also lauded the efforts of the Bureau of Animal Industry, in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration, in developing an effective vaccine for African Swine Fever (ASF)—a disease that has devastated the hog industry since the first outbreak in 2019.—Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News