Ahead from the release of official figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the farming sector grew by 1 percent in 2018, due to the effects of 13 weather disturbances that ravaged the country last year. The preliminary estimate is slower than the 3.5 percent growth projection for the year. "Philippine agriculture and fisheries hobbled, with a mere 1 percent growth in 2018 as a super typhoon and 12 more tropical storms battered the country almost every month of the year destroying 1.8 million metric tons (MT) of crops with an estimated value of P36 billion," Piñol said in a statement.

Macapagal, J. (2019, January 11). Farm output growth slowed to 1% in 2018. Malaya Business Insight, p. A1.