Our pitiable agriculture sector
By Herbert Vego
IN a developing country blessed with fertile lands and other natural resources, agriculture should be a key driver of economic growth. Instead, the share of the agriculture sector in economic development is shrinking and agricultural growth has slowed down in the past years.
That is the observation of the IBON Foundation, given the chronic underfunding and a heavy reliance on food imports that drive the steady decline of Philippine agriculture.
Agriculture used to provide jobs to about 30 percent of the population. But employment in the sector has deeply declined from 12.04 million at the end of 2009 to 9.68 million as of July this year.
Today, the agriculture and forestry sector accounts for only 20.9% of the country’s total employed population, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Agricultural employment numbers fluctuate heavily based on seasonal harvest cycles and extreme weather conditions. As revealed by the PSA, the sector experienced a severe net loss of 905,000 in May 2026.
An annual growth rate of even three to four percent in the agriculture sector could have made a significant dent on poverty.
Typhoons and severe monsoons in recent months have inflicted devastating financial losses and destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Filipino farmers.
The combination of destructive winds, prolonged downpours, and severe landslides frequently wipes out essential crops, pushes rural communities into heavy debt, and triggers national food security alarms.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Wednesday that the ongoing El Nino has already caused significant agricultural damage reaching PHP 6.539 billion, with 109 cities and municipalities across the country now under the state of calamity.
As of the weekend, according to the Iloilo Provincial Agriculture Office, agricultural damage had reached PHP 232,543,503, with rice production bearing the brunt of the prolonged lack of rainfall.
Economic experts have lamented a general neglect of the agriculture sector by the national government. Poor infrastructure and insufficient support services deprive farmers of access not only to export markets but even to local outlets for their crops.
Local producers need improved farming methods and technologies that will allow them to stay competitive in a tough international market. Small farmers need support for fertilizers and seeds for high-yield crops, access to finance and equipment, sufficient irrigation and transportation infrastructure.
Sad to say, continuous influx of cheap agricultural imports destroys the economic viability of local farming, forcing farmers to abandon their crops.
Imported crops enter the local market at prices far lower than what it costs local farmers to grow them. For example, if imported carrots sell for PHP 25 per kilo, local carrots require much more just to break even.
There are times when local farmers are forced to slash their farmgate prices (the price traders pay them directly at the farm) to break even.
The World Bank has called on developing nations to give priority to policies boosting the agriculture sector. Many advanced economies did this on their road to prosperity. The Philippines must get its priorities right.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel has been saying that the seasonality of job opportunities in the sector brings into focus the need for long-term reforms.
To quote Laurel in one of his speeches, “If the Department of Agriculture can create more permanent jobs by building the right infrastructure, including food hubs, cold storage facilities, agricultural ports, and food processing complexes, then we will not only uplift the lives of those who till our lands and fish our seas. We will also position agriculture as a far stronger contributor to the broader economy.”
While we wish to be in that position, we are not.
-oOo-
TO GOD BE THE GLORY
THE 17th Asia CEO Awards Night 2026 at the Manila Marriott Hotel on Monday, October 13, brought honor to us Ilonggos as MORE Electric and Power Corp. President Roel Z. Castro stepped up to receive the grand winner award for “Apex Company of the Year”.
As already reported by the Daily Guardian, Sir Roel himself was named “CEO of the Year.”
When I congratulated him by Viber message, he humbly typed back, “That award is really for Him. Workers lang tayo.”
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