Agriculture continued to support job generation in the country, accounting for one in every four jobs in December 2023 and helping drive economic growth, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said over the weekend.
The DA cited data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showing that employment in the sector is about a fourth or about 24.4 percent of the 50.5 million employed in December or around 12.3 million Filipinos.
“We could do much more in generating jobs and helping more of Filipinos in agriculture to have better lives. The Department of Agriculture is now completing a three-year strategy that will modernize agriculture, attract more investments, and produce more to ensure food security,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
Data showed that while services accounted for a 57.3 percent share of the jobs in December, industry contributed 18.3-percent share.
Agriculture also generated 715,000 new jobs in December, the second highest for the month when the country’s unemployment rate slipped to 3.1 percent, the lowest in 2023.
The DA maintains that the government has always been seeking new ways to increase food productivity to ensure stable supply at reasonable prices and reduce importation.
By improving returns from agriculture, government hopes it could inspire a new generation of farmers to replace an aging population.
Tiu Laurel said the government aims to invest heavily in irrigation, machineries, post-harvest facilities and other farm inputs to boost production, lower cost, improve efficiency and raise returns for farmers.
He said the record palay output in 2023 has been one of the significant outcomes of the initial investments in agriculture.