SEARCA in the News

The country's agriculture production could possibly contract by 1.21% in the first three months of 2021, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture has projected. "This contraction could be expected as the agriculture sector bounces back after a series of typhoons and floods on top of the disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions," said SEARCA in a recent release. Super Typhoon Rolly and typhoons Quinta and Ulysses ravaged parts of Luzon from October to November last year, leaving billions of pesos in damage to agriculture. Prior to this, farmers and fisherfolk have already… Read more

The following link will take you to INQUIRER.net: Farm sector seen shrinking by 1.21% in Q1https://business.inquirer.net/315293/farm-sector-seen-shrinking-by-1-21-in-q1… Read more

The local agriculture sector will see the effect of the consecutive typhoons at the end of 2020 as the farm industry is expected to contract 1.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca) has projected that agriculture performance for January to March 2021 will be in the negative, declining by as much as 1.21 percent. “This contraction could be expected as the agriculture sector bounces back after a series of typhoons and floods on top of the disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions,” Searca… Read more

The agriculture sector is expected to contract by more than 1 percent within the first three months of this year on the weight of the lingering impact of strong typhoons, namely Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses, said a top official of an international think tank.“For the first quarter of 2021, we are projecting that the overall growth rate of the volume of production in agriculture is -1.21 percent,” said Glenn B. Gregorio, director at Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). “This contraction could be expected as the agriculture sector bounces back after a series of… Read more

THE agriculture sector of the Philippines and Southeast Asia is seen having better prospects for 2021 despite the disruption of agricultural production by several catastrophes and the pandemic that slowed down the pace by which the sector plays as an engine for economic development in Southeast Asia. In his 2020 year-end message, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Director Glenn Gregorio noted that while the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic crippled most of the key economic sectors in the Philippines, the agriculture sector was able to maintain positive growth in 2020. “It must be… Read more

The pandemic notwithstanding, agriculture was robust last year and will remain so. The fearless forecast comes from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños. 2020 saw agricultural production disrupted by a number of catastrophes that slowed down the pace by which it plays as an engine for economic development in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, while the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crippled most of its key economic sectors, agriculture was able to maintain a positive growth, said Dr. Glenn Gregorio, SEARCA director. “It must be acknowledged that there were earlier production growth targets that may not have been achieved. Being able… Read more

The country’s rice inventory went up in November last year  as volume of the main staple was boosted by the main harvest season. Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that total rice inventory stood at 3.16 million metric tons (MT) as of November, up 6.6 percent from the previous year’s volume of 2.96 million MT. The current inventory is also 19 percent higher than the  previous month’s volume stock of 2.65 million MT.   Based on the average daily consumption of Filipinos of 32,000 MT, the current inventory is sufficient for 99 days. Households had more than… Read more

After an “unexpectedly challenging year” for the Philippine agriculture sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) must find a way to execute concrete actions that are “wiser, effective, efficient, and sustainable,” said a top official of an international think tank “The year 2021 must be a year where previous justifications are to be rendered as no longer acceptable. Instead, the touted ‘new normal’ clearly means concrete actions that are wiser, effective, efficient, and sustainable,” said Glenn B. Gregorio, Director of Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Gregorio was referring to the Philippines’ agriculture sector, which… Read more

Despite the persistence of COVID-19 pandemic and with impacts of recent typhoons to spill over until the first half of 2021, the agriculture sector is still expected to grow 2.5 percent next year. Likewise, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has not yet totally given up on a growth performance of less than 1 percent for the farm sector for 2020 even if it has been considered the “most challenging year for the Philippine agriculture sector.” “We expect a modest growth of 1 percent in 2020. For 2021, we target to attain a conservative 2.5 percent growth,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar… Read more

PROSPECTS for growth in agriculture remain tenuous due tc the ongoing impact of the pandemic, with natural disasters holding the potential to inflict setbacks, and the worst-case scenario estimated in the negative single-digit range, a professor at Pampanga State Agricultural University said.  Roy S. Kempis said in an e-mail interview the calamities can "easily" wipe out any progress made in growing agricultural output in 2021.  "My conservative estimate for the value of production of the sector in 2021 ranges from minus 0.70% to growth of 1%,' Mr. Kempis said, adding that his pessimistic scenario is between a contraction of 1%… Read more