Farm output declined 1.4% in 2016

Philippine agricultural production declined by 1.4 percent in 2016 as excessively dry conditions due to a strong El Niño as well as excessively wet conditions due to typhoons took their toll on farms and crops, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Last year, the value of farm produce throughout the country settled at P778 billion based on 2006 prices.

This means a worsening performance following the flattish growth observed in 2015 when farm output reached P789.1 billion from P787.2 billion in 2014.

In 2016, agricultural production decreased in all but the third quarter when output rose by 3 percent.

Quarterly performance was worst during the second quarter as the value dropped by 4.5 percent when the effects of the El Niño, which peaked in strength in late 2015 but whose effects were felt during the dry-season harvest of 2016.

Romeo S. Recide, deputy national statistician, said in a report that farm output in the fourth quarter alone fell by 1.1 percent due to the devastating effects of Typhoons “Karen” and “Lawin” on the crops and fisheries subsectors.

“[But] at current prices, gross value of agricultural production amounted to P456.4 billion or 1.35 percent higher than the previous year’s record,” Recide said.

“That is the total sum of the damage of typhoons and tropical storms which hit the country’s agricultural areas,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told reporters when asked for comment.

At current prices, full-year production rose by 1.9 percent to P1.6 trillion, recovering from a 4.1-percent drop in 2015.

Last year, the crops subsector, which represented 51 percent of total output value in constant prices, contributed P384.3 billion. This meant a 3.3-percent decrease from P406 billion in 2015, which also saw a decline of 2 percent.

Palay farms alone, which represented about a fourth of total output, accounted for P147.2 billion—still the biggest contributor but contacting by 2.9 percent.

This was attributed to the decreases in both production and prices during the period, the PSA said.

Similarly, corn output was down 4 percent to P47.4 billion as did coconut production, which fell by 6.3 percent to P28.3 billion.

Also depressed was output from fisheries, representing 14 percent of total. The decline worsened to 4.2 percent from 1.4 percent in 2015.

Growth in poultry production, accounting for 11 percent of total output, slowed down to 1.4 percent from 5.7 percent to settle at P123.5 billion. Growth in livestock production—16 percent of total—cranked up to 4.6 percent from 3.8 percent previously to bring in P138.5 billion.