MANILA, Philippines – The positive second half for the agriculture sector may not be able to pull off the output for the rest of the year as palay (unhusked rice) and corn production may suffer setbacks due to the recent dry spell, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Palay production is expected to reach 17.91 million metric tons (MT) this year, down 1.3 percent from the 18.15 million MT output last year.
Harvest area may also decline by almost two percent to 4.58 million hectares in 2016 from 4.66 million hectares last year.
Production for the last quarter is expected to increase a measly 0.33 percent from 7.28 million MT last year to 7.3 million MT this year coming from Central Luzon, Mimaropa and ARMM.
But the PSA said the increase in production would not likely offset the decline in output in the early part of the year.
Palay output for the first semester was already lower by 8.13 percent mainly due to the contraction of harvest areas and lower yields due to the El Niño phenomenon.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
“Possible decrements in production are also perceived in Cagayan Valley and Zamboanga Peninsula due to unrealized plantings and movement of cropping in the Visayas regions and Zamboanga Peninsula as an effect of dry spell and drought in the past quarters,” the agency said.
Furthermore, corn production is also expected to post a 3.4 percent decrease, from 7.52 million MT last year to 7.26 million MT this year as harvest area may contract by three percent.
Corn output for the first semester already shrunk 16.35 percent due to the decrease in harvest areas and lower yields due to the drought.
Production for the last quarter is expected to increase by 2.44 percent from 1.73 million MT last year to 1.77 million MT this year but harvest area may shrink by about 2.3 percent.
Possible increase can be noted in Western Visayas due to seed distribution by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and private companies and the movement of harvest from September to October this year.
PSA said there was also sufficient rainfall during planting time and higher rate of fertilizer application that may cause the output to improve.
Corn production is seen to continue its positive output during the first quarter of 2017 as it may increase by 18 percent from 1.92 million MT to 2.22 million MT based on farmers’ planting intentions.
