Agriculture as a starting point

The Philippine economy has suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic as most
businesses in the country were forced to close down to prepare for the community quarantine
to avoid the virus from spreading. Now that the community quarantine has been in effect for
a year, our country faces many economic challenges. When it comes to the growth of the
Philippine economy, several sectors are involved. One of the said sectors is the agricultural
sector. From 2009 to 2019, the agricultural sector contributed 14.54 percent to 8.82 percent of
the overall gross domestic product according to Statista published by H. Plecher. Its
contribution to our country’s GDP is slowly decreasing, and one of the reasons for this is the
government’s lack of funding for the agricultural sector. With that in mind, how will the
agricultural sector contribute to the recovery of the Philippine economy in this post-COVID
era?

If the issues and problems in the agricultural sector are resolved, and the requisite
assistance is given to them, the Philippine economy will greatly expand with the aid of the
agricultural sector, attracting more people who are unsure whether or not to pursue
agriculture. As a result, the agricultural sector’s manpower will increase, and modernization
will accelerate. This will greatly aid in lowering the Philippines’ unemployment rate and the
poverty that comes with it, particularly now that many workers have been laid off as a result
of the pandemic. We’ll be able to meet people’s everyday needs without them having to clear
their wallets, which means they’ll be able to purchase other goods made in our country
instead of having to buy products from other countries. So, if the citizens of our country
support locally produced products such as rice, corn, coconut, tobacco, and many other
products produced by our own agricultural sector, we can promote our own produce from
other countries, bringing profit back to our country. As we can see, it's like a domino effect
that once you start doing something, it will follow the outcomes along the way. For example,
when we were quarantined for a year, we realized how valuable locally produced goods were
because importing products from other countries was limited during those days due to the
coronavirus's risks. As a result, we noticed local farmers who were already suffering prior to
the pandemic and are now suffering even more as a result of the pandemic. Many people
became aware of what is happening to the local farmers and to our agriculture. They have
now recognized the advantages of agriculture, even in this modern era, meaning that we can
alter our everyday lives from what they are now, with the high cost of common goods that
people can hardly afford to purchase. Agriculture has a huge effect on our country, and we
must work to develop it now for the future if we want to recover from the aftermath of
Covid-19 pandemic. This does not imply that we should limit ourselves to only develop our
agricultural sector, as there are numerous sectors that contribute to the growth of the
Philippine economy. The agricultural sector needs assistance from other sectors to maintain
its facilities and transport the goods it produces to other parts of the country and the world.
Economic sectors should work together to aid the recovery of the Philippine economy,
especially now that the country is suffering from the pandemic.
 To conclude, we must support the things that support us in order for our lives to be
more satisfying in our home country, which includes supporting our local products and those
who produce them, as well as encouraging them to succeed in their fields and not letting them
down on what they were doing because we were often the reason why the Philippine
economy was not prospering despite our best efforts. Everything can have a huge effect on
our lives if we give it a lot of support, and agriculture in our country is an example of that. It
may have contributed a small percentage of our country’s GDP in the previous year, but there
are several possible great outcomes that can happen if we give our support to the agricultural
sector, not just in our lives but also in the Philippine economy’s future.