Agri growth bodes well for Q1 GDP

The value of the country's agriculture and fisheries output recovered in the first quarter of the year, driven by higher production in nearly all subsectors, signaling the sector's steady recovery from the impact of severe weather disturbances last year.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), agriculture and fisheries production, at constant 2018 prices, reached P437.74 billion, a 1.9-percent increase from P428.99 billion during the first quarter of 2024.

This is a strong recovery from the three straight quarters of contraction last year—a 3.3-percent downtick in the second quarter, 3.6-percent drop in the third quarter, and 2.2-percent dip in the fourth quarter.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) had attributed last year's lackluster performance of the agriculture sector to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon during the first half of the year and the string of successive storms in the second half, as well as the spread of animal diseases.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the positive performance of the farm sector in the first quarter of this year was made possible through the favorable weather conditions in the past three months, coupled with the DA's interventions.