Farm output declined for third straight year owing to weak crop and fishery sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Data from the PSA

showed that the value of production in agriculture and fisheries dropped 0.1 percent in January to December last year. This, however, was slower compared with the 1.7 percent contraction recorded in 2021.

Last year, production of crops decreased by 1.0 percent and fisheries by 6.6 percent, while production of livestock increased by 2.5 percent and poultry by 1.8 percent.

In 2022, the the country’s farm sector went down by 1.2 percent.

In the fourth-quarter alone, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries declined by 1.0 percent, a reversal of the 0.5 percent growth seen in the same period in 2021.

“This was attributed to the reduction in the value of production of crops and fisheries. Meanwhile, expansions in the value of livestock and poultry production were noted this quarter,” PSA said.

The value of crop production, which accounted for 59.1 percent of the total value of production in agriculture and fisheries, contracted by -1.0 percent. Palay and corn went down by 2.5 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively.

Livestock, with a 14.3 percent share to the total, grew by 2.5 percent. Hog, the major contributor to the value of livestock production, increased by 3.4 percent.

For poultry, value of production registered a 1.8 percent increment. It shared 12.8 percent to the total value of production in agriculture and fisheries. All poultry commodities recorded improvements in the value of production.

Fisheries, which contributed 13.8 percent to the total value of production in agriculture and fisheries, posted a 6.6 percent reduction.

Double-digit decreases were recorded for bigeye tuna (tambakol/bariles), mudcrab (alimango), slipmouth (sapsap), cavalla (talakitok), threadfin bream (bisugo), Indian mackerel (alumahan), grouper (lapu-lapu), Bali sardinella (tamban), tilapia, and tiger prawn (sugpo).

At current prices, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at P611.52 billion was 9.4 percent higher than the previous year’s level.

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Farm output declines anew in 2022