Farm output up by 4.3%
Manila Standard
Farm output grew 4.3 percent in the first nine months of the year, offsetting a dry spell earlier this year.
“It all depends on the weather. For now, we are comfortable in hitting the 4.5-percent growth for the year. If the weather holds, we’ll hit our target,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told a press briefing yesterday.
Agricultural production in the third quarter rose 5.39 percent, up from 4.08 percent year-on-year.
Agriculture, which accounts for about a fifth of domestic economic output, saw all its sectors go up despite a lengthy dry spell, which affected Luzon.
The crops sector, which mainly covers the staples rice and corn and which counts for about 46.77 percent of agricultural production, rose by 4.17 percent from January to September, the agriculture department said in a statement.
The fishery sector, which accounts for 26.3 percent of total agricultural production, led the growth in agriculture, rising by 7.92 percent, the department added.
Livestock rose by 2.06 percent while the poultry sector went up by 0.4 percent, the department added.
The economy grew by 7.3 percent in the first half of 2007. The government is targetting full-year growth of 6.1 to 6.7 percent.
Third-quarter economic growth data will be released later this month.
Data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics show that crop output in the third quarter alone grew 6.25 percent year-on-year from 5.06 percent. Palay output went up 4.68 percent to 3.15 million metric tons from 3 million MT last year while corn rose significantly by 13.96 percent to 2.54 million MT from 2.23 million tons.
Livestock inched up 1.13 percent while poultry grew 0.79 percent. Fisheries production rose 10.85 percent.
Yap said the growth in the farm output in the first nine months of the year would enable it to expand by about 5 percent for the whole of 2007.
Farm gate prices went up 2.35 percent with poultry recording the biggest price increase of 6.01 percent; fisheries, 2.47 percent; livestock, 2.27 percent; and crops, 1.96 percent.
Yap ordered the implementation of a quick turn around program from August to Sept. 15 this year, mostly in the drought-free rice-producing areas of Mindanao, to address the dry spell.
The agriculture department also provided hybrid seeds to rice farmers to increase production.
Rice production rose 4.7 percent in the third quarter compared with a year earlier as the government increased subsidies for higher-yielding seeds.
Output of unmilled rice rose to 3.1 million metric tons in the three months ended Sept. 30, after gaining 4.4 percent in the previous three months, Yap said. Production in the year to September increased 3.5 percent to 9.9 million tons, he said.
Increased production may help boost stockpiles, allowing the government to cap imports of milled rice at 1.9 million tons, National Food Authority Deputy Administrator Vic Jarina said on Nov. 13. That compares with 1.65 million tons bought last year.
The government’s target of expanding production of unmilled rice to 16 million tons this year from 15.3 million tons last year “is achievable at this point, assuming the weather cooperates,” Yap said.
Othel V. Campos, AFP and Bloomberg
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