Better weather conditions and intensified government initiatives fueled a strong recovery in the agriculture and fisheries sector, which posted a 5.7 percent year-on-year growth in the second quarter of 2025, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In a news release on Wednesday, the DA said the sector’s total value rose to PHP437.53 billion, a sharp turnaround from the -3.2 percent contraction year-on-year, citing the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the data showed that the administration remains on track with its food security targets.

“We know that we still have to do a lot more to realize the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a modern agricultural sector, where farmers and fisherfolk reap the full benefits of their hard work. But this result, and that of the first quarter, is a clear indication that we are on the right track,” he said.

He credited the rebound to reforms under the Rice Tariffication Law, stronger disease control measures, and increased investments in infrastructure, logistics, and research and development after the sector suffered in 2024 due to the combined effects of the El Niño phenomenon, La Niña, successive weather disturbances, Mt. Kanlaon eruption, and threats related to African swine fever and avian influenza.

Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa also cited improved farming technologies and the distribution of high-yielding crop varieties as key drivers of the sector’s recovery.

Crop production led the growth, surging by 11.3 percent to PHP244.9 billion from 1 percent in the first quarter, and -8.6 percent during the same period last year.

The poultry sector also contributed, which rose by 7 percent or PHP75.07 billion.

The agri chief expressed optimism that the Philippines will continue to recover until the last quarter of 2025.

“The first quarter was a very strong rebound and we are still expecting that there will be a continuous growth, rebound for the next half of the year, making a whole positive growth for the entire year,” he said in a separate Zoom interview. (PNA)