Study shows RP farm output may be 'very slow'

A study by the University of Asia and the Pacific's Center for Food and Agribusiness (UA&P-CFA) revealed that the country's farm output for this year may grow at a very slow pace. Overall farm growth is projected to move slowly by 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent, according to the study released Thursday. The study considered poultry, crops, livestock, and aquaculture as major contributors to the estimated minimal growth for the year. "After the El Nino-La Nina tandem in 2010, agriculture production could be better in 2011. Farm production is projected to post as much as 3-percent to 4-percent growth in 2011," said Rolando Dy, executive director of the UA&P-CFA. The Department of Agriculture earlier said that farm output may recover, posting a growth range of 0.5 to 2.5 percent for the second semester since the government has already implemented measures to increase farm productivity. Despite a rosy outlook for the second semester, farm production may register negative output for the second quarter. The Agricultural Statistics Bureau earlier said that farm growth in the second quarter may remain negative albeit a little better that the losses incurred in the first quarter of 2010. The residual effects of typhoons in 2009 compounded the damages brought about by the severe dry spell that affected the farm sector performance in the first quarter when output registered a negative 2.84 percent growth. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV