CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) –The economy of Northern Mindanao expanded at a faster rate of 7.2% in 2022 due to revenge spending. But the National Economic and Development Authority in the region (NEDA-X) believes that the agriculture sector should catch up with the other sectors to achieve much higher economic growth.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) which accounted for 20% of the region’s Gross Domestic Product only expanded by 0.5% in 2022.
“We need to improve our agriculture sector, particularly in terms of improving our productivity,” said NEDA-X Assistant Regional Director Leonila Cajarte during the news conference on the region’s economic performance for 2022, held at Chali Beach Resort on Thursday, April 27.
She said agricultural productivity can be boosted through technological innovations, expansion of markets, and improvement of the market value chain.
Cajarte also suggested diversifying the production of industrial and high-value crops.
The performance of the AFF sector in 2022 was attributed to the modest growth in crop production which was heavily dependent on three major crops – pineapple, sugarcane, and banana.
Meanwhile, Northern Mindanao was the second biggest contributor to the country’s total agricultural output in 2022 with P186.57 billion. (APB/PIA-10)
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