Central Luzon posts highest agricultural contributions

The value of production in agriculture and fisheries reached P1.76 trillion last year, with Central Luzon contributing the largest share among regions, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

However, this was slightly lower compared to the P1.77 trillion output recorded in 2022.

The PSA said in a report that Central Luzon shared the most gains from agriculture and fisheries production, contributing 13.5 percent, followed by Northern Mindanao and Western Visayas with 10.1 percent and 9.4 percent shares, respectively.

If looking at the fastest annual growths, Central Visayas topped the list at 7.6 percent and was followed by MIMAROPA Region at 7.0 percent and Eastern Visayas at 3.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the biggest decline in the value of production in agriculture and fisheries was seen in the Bicol Region at 7.6 percent, as Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN also declined to 5.7 percent and 4.3 percent.

On the other hand, crop production value was recorded at P1 trillion last year with Northern Mindanao accounting for the highest share at 11.7 percent.

Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon completed the second and third places with shares of 10.6 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

In terms of annual growth, Central Visayas recorded the highest growth in the value of crop production among all regions at 24.3 percent, the PSA said.

For livestock production, its value reached P260 billion in 2023 as the top three regions with the highest contribution were seen in CALABARZON with 13.1 percent share, Central Visayas with 12.7 percent share, and Northern Mindanao with 11.3 percent share.

As for the year-on-year growth, Central Luzon had the highest growth at 30 percen and was followed by MIMAROPA Region at 16.9 percent, Ilocos Region at 14.1 percent, and CALABARZON at 12.2 percent.

For poultry and fisheries, their production gains last year were valued at P260 billion and P240 billion, respectively.

The top three regions with the highest contributions for poultry were Central Luzon with 27.0 percent share, CALABARZON with 19.3 percent share, and Northern Mindanao with 9.5 percent share, while for fisheries, Central Luzon had the highest contribution at P18.1 percent.

Four provinces from Central Luzon, namely Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, and Bataan, entered the top 10 list that had large contributions to the country's gross domestic product in 2022.