Agriculture sector cushions 2011 slump of NorMin economy

Northern Mindanao’s Agriculture sector, which posted a three-percent growth from 2010 levels, cushioned the region’s economic slowdown after the decline in the Industry sector and the decelerated growth in the Service sector threatened to pull down its economy further in 2011.

The Agriculture sector, comprising of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, showed an accelerated growth of 5.9 percent in 2011 from 2.9 percent in 2010, whereas

the Industry sector showed a decline by 2.9 percent last year from 2010 levels of 10.2 percent while the Service sector only managed a growth rate of 4.5 percent in 2011 from 7.1 percent in 2010.

Northern Mindanao’s Agriculture sector contributed 8.9 percent to the growth of the Philippines’ Agriculture sector in 2011, said Brenda Lynn M. Castro, officer-in-charge of the National Statistical Information Center of the National Statistical Coordination Board-X (NSCB-10).

The Philippine Agriculture sector grew by 2.34 percent in 2011, bannered by the crops, livestock and poultry sub-sectors.

The region’s Agriculture sector also topped in Mindanao, holding 26.8 percent of the island’s overall Agriculture performance in 2011.

The growth in Northern Mindanao’s Agriculture sector was attributed to the increase production of palay, sugarcane, pineapple, livestock and chicken, Castro said.

However, Fishing dropped in growth to -0.8 percent in 2011 from 3.8 in 2010 due to the decrease in commercial and municipal fishing, and aquaculture.

  Agriculture comprised 28 percent of Northern Mindanao’s economy. The Service sector accounted for the biggest share of the region’s economy at 41.8 percent while the Industry sector accounted for 30.2 percent of the region’s economy.

In 2011, Northern Mindanao’s economic growth was only 2.5 percent, a slowdown from its 6.9 percent growth in 2010, mainly because of the decline in the Industry and Service sectors.

But the region’s economic slump last year was not an isolated case because 10 other regions in the country posted decelerated economic growth. Only 5 of the Philippines’ 17 regions showed improved economic performance while one region showed a negative growth rate.

Castro said the slump in Northern Mindanao’s economic performance in 2011 was due mainly to the negative growth of the Industry sector, pulled down by the negative performance of the construction sub-sector which nosedived last year, posting -27.2 percent from 10.8 percent in 2010.

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