By Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel

THE PHILIPPINES’ agricultural production grew by 2.6% in 2025, the fastest pace in eight years, as gains in crop output and strong poultry performance offset the decline in livestock and fisheries, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Data from the PSA showed the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices rose to P1.77 trillion last year from P1.73 trillion in 2024.

This was a reversal of the 2.1% contraction in 2024 when the agriculture sector was affected by drought and dry spells caused by the El Niño.

This was also the fastest growth in farm output since the 4.3% increase reported in 2017.

The rebound in the farm sector’s performance was driven by the growth in crops (2.8%) and poultry (9.1%), which helped offset the decline in livestock (-2.3%) and fisheries (-0.3%).

In the fourth quarter alone, the value of agricultural production rose by 0.5% to P487.04 billion, despite a drop in crop output. This was a turnaround from the 2% contraction during the same period in 2024.

“Increments in the value of livestock, poultry, and fisheries production contributed to this growth. In contrast, the value of crop production declined during the said period,” the PSA said, citing constant 2018 prices.

At current prices, however, the value of production in agriculture and fisheries fell by 2% year on year to P651.47 billion in the fourth quarter from P664.85 billion previously.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel V. De Mesa told a briefing that while the 2.6% full-year growth exceeded the 1-2% target of the Department of Agriculture (DA), output could have been higher.

“It really surpassed the target of the DA. It could have been higher, but the typhoons in the last quarter affected the crop subsector. But these typhoons are unavoidable,” he said.

Mr. De Mesa also attributed the rebound in output to a higher budget for the farm sector.

“The higher funding is poured into programs on production and productivity of our farmers, including the reduction of post-harvest losses and improvements in inputs,” he said.

CROP, POULTRY GAINSCrop output, which accounted for 55.7% of the total value of agricultural production, rose by 2.8% to P986.81 billion in 2025 from P960.19 billion a year earlier. This was a turnaround from the 4.2% decline in 2024.

However, crop output contracted by 2.5% to P274.3 billion in the fourth quarter, driven by a 5.2% decline in palay (unmilled rice) production.

In 2025, palay production rose 3.3%, improving from the 5% contraction a year earlier.

PSA data showed corn production increased by 2.3% in 2025, a turnaround from the 3.2% decline in 2024. Coconut also registered a 0.1% increase, an improvement from a 2.7% contraction in 2024.

Double-digit growth was recorded in sugarcane (41.3%), tobacco (19.9%), onion (15.4%), and coffee (11.5%). Increase in production was also seen in cacao (9.4%), rubber (7.7%), and cabbage (4.7%).

Meanwhile, declines in output were recorded in abaca (-13.7%), sweet potato (-11.1%), and mango (-6.8%).

Former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told BusinessWorld via Viber that full-year crop production rose due to increased government assistance in rice, corn, and high-value crops.

He noted that the decline in crop output in the fourth quarter is “due mainly to the very devastating typhoons and subsequent flooding.”

The poultry sector, which accounted for 17.2% of total farm output, jumped 9.1% to P304.71 billion in 2025 from P279.41 billion a year earlier. The growth was faster than the 6.6% logged in 2024.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, poultry output also grew by 8.9% to P78.18 billion from P71.81 billion in the same period in 2024.

For 2025, chicken production recorded an annual gain of 9.8% by value, while chicken eggs and duck posted 8.4% and 0.6% growth, respectively. Duck eggs, on the other hand, declined 4.1%.

Elias Jose M. Inciong, chairman of the United Broiler Raisers Association, earlier told BusinessWorld that the growth in the poultry sector may be attributed to “an influx of new entrants to the industry.”

DIP IN LIVESTOCK, FISHERIESOn the other hand, livestock production, which accounted for 13.9% of the total farm output, contracted by 2.3% to P246.42 billion in 2025, from P252.27 billion in 2024. This marks an improvement from the 4.2% contraction in 2024.

Livestock production in the fourth quarter of 2025 rose by 1% to P68.43 billion, reversing the 6.1% decline in the same period in 2024.

Dairy was the lone bright spot in the livestock sector, recording a 27.7% increase in output in 2025, from 13.2% a year earlier.

Hog production, which accounted for 81% of the sector’s total output, fell by 2.7%, improving from the 5% contraction in 2024.

Carabao production slipped by 3.6%, while goat dropped by 2.7% and cattle dipped by 0.2%.

“African Swine Fever (ASF) continues to be the major factor in the full-year decline of livestock,” Mr. Dar said.

ASF, which continues to affect the domestic and global hog industries, is a contagious viral disease lethal to swine and wild boars.

Mr. De Mesa said, however, that the fourth-quarter growth and slower full-year contraction in the livestock sector point to a continuous recovery in the hog sector.

“Recently, there have been only eight barangays with positive incidence of ASF. Which shows that our hog industry is able to adjust to the effects of ASF. Producers now know how to adjust to the disease and improve their biosecurity,” he said.

Fishery output, which accounted for 13.2% of overall production, also slipped by 0.3% to P233.67 billion in 2025 from P234.31 billion a year earlier. This marks the fourth straight year that fishery production declined.

In the fourth quarter, fishery output grew by 4% to P66.14 billion from P63.57 billion a year earlier.

Gains were also recorded in 2025 for squid (15.5%), milkfish (11.2%), Indian mackerel (alumahan, 9.6%), yellowfin tuna (tambakol, 6.1%), grouper (lapu-lapu, 5.2%), slipmouth (sapsap, 4.1%), and tilapia (3.3%).

Meanwhile, declines were seen for P. Vannamei (-22.7%), mudcrab (alimango, -12.4%), Bali sardinella (tamban, -11.9%), roundscad (galunggong, -11.7%), and fimbriated sardines (tunsoy, -10.3%).

Norberto O. Chingcuanco, a board member of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute and co-convenor of Tugon Kabuhayan, earlier told BusinessWorld that weather disruptions heavily affected fishery production as a huge volume of fish escaped from sea cages.

He said, however, that actual fishery output did not decline as many of the fish that escaped were later caught as community catch, which official statistics cannot track.

‘NO REAL IMPROVEMENT’Despite the headline growth in farm output, analysts said the gains did not necessarily translate into better livelihoods for farmers and livestock raisers.

Jayson H. Cainglet, executive director of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, told BusinessWorld via Viber that growth figures and production values “are meaningless from the lens of the local agriculture sector.”

Mr. Cainglet said that output growth could still result in losses for producers if production costs rose or farmgate prices collapsed in peak harvest periods.

“There may be growth (in output), but if production costs also increase, then there is no real improvement. In fact, local producers may have incurred bigger losses due to the sharp drop in farmgate prices,” he said.

Mr. Cainglet said the growth figures may also be misleading, as these are measured against a weaker 2024 base.

Meanwhile, Raul Q. Montemayor, national manager of the Federation of Free Farmers, said the sector’s performance appears less impressive when compared to levels in 2023, before the farm sector was hit with a series of weather disturbances in 2024.

“There is less than half a percent growth over 2023. All major subsectors except poultry declined in 2025 when compared against 2023 output. Poultry remains the only significant bright spot in agriculture,” he said.

Mr. Montemayor also said overall sector growth remained weak despite substantial government spending, noting that the increase in output did not appear proportional to public investment.

“Between 2025 and 2024, total output at constant 2018 prices rose by around P45 billion, far less than the amount of public funds poured into the sector during the year,” he said

In a statement on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the DA is “laying the groundwork for a smarter, climate-resilient agriculture” by investing in infrastructure to further improve farm production.

The DA said it is projecting higher agricultural production in 2026, driven by increased output in poultry and crops and a further recovery in the livestock sector, particularly in the swine industry.

The agriculture sector accounts for about a tenth of the country’s gross domestic product and provides about a quarter of all jobs.