Business NEWS

Amid COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and lack of support in the livestock sector, which contributes more than 14 percent to the Philippines’ total farm output, it is unlikely for the agriculture sector to recover soon and achieve the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) growth target by the end of this year.

Hit by calamities in 2020

The agriculture sector is expected to contract by more than 1 percent within the first three months of this year on the weight of the lingering impact of strong typhoons, namely Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses, said a top official of an international think tank.”For the first quarter of 2021, we are projecting that the overall growth rate of the volume of production in agriculture is -1.21 percent,” said Glenn B. Gregorio, director at Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

After an “unexpectedly challenging year” for the Philippine agriculture sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) must find a way to execute concrete actions that are “wiser, effective, efficient, and sustainable,” said a top official of an international think tank.

Filipinos may now apply for research grants on accelerating transformation through agricultural innovation in Southeast Asia with a focus on food security during the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social impacts.

The use of crop biotechnology has reduced pesticide use associated with environmental impact and is beneficial for agricultural biodiversity, a UK-based agricultural economist and scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) said.

Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is pushing for technology-based innovations in garlic production as the Philippines still imports 90 percent of the country’s demand for this particular farm commodity.