A nightmare

It would be totally understandable 1r Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr. is having nightmares wondering whatever made him agree to take on a mission impossible in Philippine agriculture.

- BOO CHANCO

Calamities - man-made and natural - have conspired to make it a horrible year despite his best efforts to turn the sector around.

Sec. Tiu Laurel is hoping for one to two percent growth in agriculture this year. What happened instead is a 3.7 percent contraction in agricultural output for the third quarter of 2024, the steepest decline D E M AN D in four years. A N D The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that agricultural output fell by 2.2 percent in the nine months to September, reversing the slight growth seen in 2023. The PSA attributed the slump to drops across major subsectors, including crops, livestock and fisheries.

Crops, which account for more than half of the total farm output, plummeted by 5.1 percent in Q3. The decline was primarily due to a 12.3 percent drop in palay (unmilled rice) production, aggravated by El Nino and La Nina PSA data showed sugarcane plummeted by 83.8 percent during the July-to-September period. Lower output was also seen in mango (-11.2 percent), banana (-1.1 percent), pineapple (-0.4 percent), and coconut (-O.1 percent).

The value of livestock output dropped by 3.5 percent in the first nine months, primarily due to African Swine Fever (ASF).

El Nino has resulted in a staggering P4.39 billion in damage to the Philippines' agricultural sector, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) showed that approximately 2,116,420 individuals, including farmers, fisherfolk and their dependents or families, have been affected by El Nino. It is miserable out there.