Agri production grows nearly 2% in 3 months

The country's agricultural output grew by almost two percent year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by sustained expansion in poultry production and recovery of the crops sector.

- By JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

The value of production, measured in constant 2018 prices, in agriculture and fisheries reached P437.74 trillion in the first three months of the year, about 1.9 percent higher than the P429.62 trillion recorded in the same period last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The recorded increase was faster compared to the minuscule 0.19 percent growth posted in the first quarter last year.

PSA data showed that the three subsectors of agriculture, except for livestock, posted growth during the three-month period. The crops sector grew by one percent, poultry expanded by 9.4 percent and fisheries rose by 1.5 percent.

The livestock sector contracted by 2.8 percent as hog production remained in the red due to threats of African swine fever, according to the PSA report.

Furthermore, the first quarter agriculture and fisheries output was also two percent higher than the P428.79 trillion recorded in 2023, giving industry players and the government optimism that the sector is on a path toward recovery and growth after reeling from the ill effects of extreme weather conditions last year.