Farm output likely contracted in Q3, decline to persist until Q1 2027
Agricultural output is expected to have contracted in the third quarter, with the decline likely to persist until the first quarter next year amid the El Niño, according to the Department of Agriculture.
The Philippine Department of Agriculture has forecasted a contraction in agricultural output for the third quarter of the year, with the decline likely to persist until the first quarter of 2027 due to the effects of El Niño. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. attributed the contraction to the habagat, the Southwest Monsoon that brought heavy rainfall and flooding, which adversely affected agricultural output.
Despite farm output growing by 2.9 percent in the second quarter, it contracted by 0.3 percent in the first quarter. Laurel anticipates that the impact of El Niño could continue to hinder growth in the fourth quarter and persist until Q1 2027. However, he noted that the impact for the current year is expected to be less severe than initially predicted, with warmer temperatures anticipated in January instead of the previous month.
Laurel emphasized that there is no need for panic as the country has a stable food supply, with chicken supply lasting for 125 days and pork supply for 170 days. The government has allocated funds for various interventions, including additional solar-powered irrigation, solar pumps, fish pond aerators, and fertilizers. The government also plans to deploy community-based assistance programs to provide emergency employment in affected areas and distribute additional fertilizers and seeds in regions with normal water levels to support production.
As food inflation accelerated in September, the Kadiwa ng Pangulo program aims to make agricultural products, including P20-per-kilo rice, more affordable for Filipinos.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
