Farm sector pressures rise as output contracts

FARM output contracted by 1.0 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, weighing on economic growth and underlining heightened pressures on the sector.

The reversal from 0.5-percent growth a year earlier was attributed to declines for crops and fisheries. Full-year production subsequently dropped by 0.1 percent, although this was an improvement from 2021's 1.7-percent fall.