Farm sector may bounce from negative growth – DA

Barring a repeat of last year's storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng that devastated large areas of Luzon, including Metro Manila, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday the farm sector may rebound in the second half of the year. With the rebound be coming from a 2.5-percent contraction in the first three months of the year, because of the prolonged dry spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon, the department said it would likely be flat for the sector "or a little bit positive." "We're more hopeful towards the second semester. The rains are coming. We can plant. Some areas are already planting. Barring any circumstance like Ondoy and Pepeng, we’re hoping to make a rebound," said Agriculture Secretary Bernardo Fondevilla. The agriculture sector may “offset a bit" the losses it suffered during the drought, especially for rice and corn, he said. Still, Fondevilla said he ordered his regional directors to "prepare for the worst" following the advice of the weather bureau that this year's rainy season would "really [be a] wet La Niña." Farmers, he said, were advised to plant as early as possible. La Niña is a weather phenomenon associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, while El Niño which is associated with warmer than normal water temperatures. —VS, GMANews.TV