Table 2. One of the critical roles of agriculture is as source of employment. This suggests that labor productivity in agriculture is lower relative to the other sectors and that the structural transformation taking place in the Philippine economy is rather slow and weak.
Philippine agriculture may be characterized among others, by limited diversification and low productivity. Other ASEAN countries have generally more diverse agriculture than the Philippines and have been exhibiting better agricultural performance.
For instance, crop yields are generally lower in the Philippines compared to other countries in the region Table 3. The country is also clearly lagging behind in long term total factor productivity in agriculture Table 4.
Cognizant of the crucial role of agriculture, the previous administration attempted to put the sector into higher growth trajectory Table 5. These targets have largely been achieved in livestock and poultry, but hardly been approximated in crops and fisheries.
The situation became even worse in when the crops and fisheries sectors exhibited 3. Limited diversification and low productivity are two of the most important challenges which constrain agricultural transformation in the country.
The combined area of high value crops with great market expansion potential is smaller than combined area of rice, corn and coconut, which are the traditional crops in the country.
This limits the capacity of the country to harness the full potentials of the growing local and international markets. Low agricultural productivity is an even bigger challenge. The cultivation frontier in the Philippines has long come to a close. This means that increasing agricultural production in the country can solely come from productivity improvement increasing output per unit of area since no new area can be opened up for new cultivation.
There is also limited connectivity between production areas and markets, and poor compliance with product standards resulting to low competitiveness of agriculture, forestry and fisheries AFF products. Climate change is also an important challenge as its adverse impacts such as increased flooding incidence, drought, soil degradation, water shortages and increased pests and diseases constantly threaten agricultural output and productivity. The Philippines is third among the countries in the world in terms of disaster risk index World Risk Report, Natural resource degradation is likewise an important challenge — deforestation leading to loss in biodiversity, soil erosion, flood and water quality; intensive cultivation resulting to depletion of nutrients in various ecosystems; loss of biodiversity resulting to increased incidence of pest and diseases and loss of natural predators.
The impact of resource conservation on productivity was demonstrated in an earlier study SEARCA, which showed that adoption of conservation practices was a significant determinant in improving the productivity of corn, especially those planted in marginal lands.
Investment in technology and innovation and the necessary support services is an important requisite to achieving successful agricultural transformation. In the Philippines, the inadequacy of such investment has long been a significant constraint to agricultural growth. The prospects for Philippine agriculture within the next five years appear to be modest, although the period may mark the beginning of real transformation taking place in the agricultural sector.
The full implementation of the plan is expected to significantly address the challenges and constraints being faced by the agricultural sector. Foremost is the serious effort of the present administration to achieve significant annual growth in the various sub-sectors crops, livestock and poultry, forestry and fisheries Table 6.
Various strategies are currently underway, adequately supported by a clear investment program to ensure the achievement of the targets. The targets have also been made more realistic by taking into account the inherent risks and vulnerabilities being faced by the sector. The continued expansion of the Philippine economy and improvement in per capita income are projected to further increase food demand. Together with the ambitious spending program of the government to build various infrastructure dubbed as Build-Build-Build Program , agriculture within the next five years might enter a truly transforming phase.
Sustained increases in food demand may significantly increase farm income and induce farmers to seek productivity improving technologies and practices. Most of these technologies are already available, albeit adoption has somehow been limited.
The infrastructure program of the government may also draw labor from agriculture. The resulting decline in agricultural manpower may induce increases in agricultural mechanization and lead to improvement in agricultural labor productivity.
While the sector may face vibrant food demand though, competition with imported food is expected to intensify. Rising food prices will lead to greater clamor for more free trade in food, which is already happening in the case of rice. Such competition however, should be viewed positively as it would place greater pressure to accelerate and intensify all agricultural productivity and efficiency enhancement needed to boost the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
A current example of this is the Philippine Rural Development Project PRDP which aims to help increase rural incomes and enhance farm and fishery productivity. Several projects are in the pipeline to help raise agricultural productivity, resiliency and access to markets of farmers and fisherfolk in selected ancestral domains in Mindanao and improve management of coastal fishery resources in selected coastal communities.
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Catalina Rodriguez. Yes, let me download! There are many routes to self-sufficiency, and scientific developments can be a big help. Consequently, rice and corn production in fell by 4. The total rice harvest for was This trend continued into as rice production for the first half of the year declined by 8. Surprisingly, officially approved imports did not see a dramatic rise in to compensate, and rice prices remained relatively stable. As of November just m tonnes of imported rice had been contracted by the National Food Authority NFA , the sole legal importer of rice into the country.
The amount of imported rice is restricted by the NFA under a deal with the World Trade Organisation to protect domestic farmers by enforcing quantitative restrictions on the commodity. An extension of this programme until was still under cabinet debate as of April Coconut is an important contributor to the sector, although productivity is a major concern in the industry. However, the market for coconut water, which has experienced severe shortages over the years, is expected to stabilise by Municipal operations for school fish such as mackerel and sardines provide the backbone of local fish production.
The tuna segment in particular employs extensive distant-water fishing fleets throughout the region. Canned tuna constitutes the bulk of tuna products exported, with the primary markets including the US, Japan and the UK. To access far-flung fisheries, companies must pay for permission to ply foreign waters — often at an steep price. Despite these challenges, the vessels supplying Philippines-based tuna operations have been able to increase their landed catch each year since , when a total of , tonnes of skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna were landed.
The annual total had increased to , tonnes by To gain access to these bountiful waters foreign-flagged vessels must bid on fishing rights through the Vessel Day Scheme VDS. Under the VDS, Pacific Island nations which are signatories to the Parties of Nauru Agreement PNA designed to manage tuna stocks set the total number of days that can be fished in their waters combined and the apportionment of the total number of days between each country.
Decisions on how many fishing days to allocate are calculated to allow for commercial fishing activity but at sustainable levels, by utilising stock assessment information on the target species of skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna, along with economic information relating to the maximisation of economic returns and optimal utilisation of the resource. The PNA recently set the total allowable effort — the number of cumulative days sold by member countries in a given year — at 46, VDS days for and 45, VDS days for This is the latest incarnation of a system first set up by the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency in the late s to cap the number of distant-water fishing vessels plying tuna waters in order to regulate fishing activity at sustainable levels, while simultaneously benefitting the island nations controlling the waters.
To facilitate the permit process and allow foreign fishing vessels into Papua New Guinea along with a number of Papua New Guinea-registered vessels also working for Frabelle , the company agreed to invest in a tuna processing plant in the Papua New Guinean port town of Lae. With large portions of the population still heavily reliant on the agriculture sector, particularly in the less-affluent rural areas, the government continues to be mindful of protecting small landowners from increased competition from larger agro-industry players and low-cost imports.
While these regulations have been somewhat successful in achieving their aim of shielding small landowners from an increasingly competitive marketplace, they have also had a distorting effect on local market prices, as well as restricting the expansion of larger, more efficient agro-industrial companies.
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