Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry, and Fishing Sector

Sectors of the Philippine Economy

• Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry, and Fishing Sector
• Industry Sector
• Service Sector

Role of the AHFF Sector in the Economy

• 41.7% of the country’s total land area is considered agricultural land.
• Being an archipelago with an abundant supply of natural bodies of water, the country
supports the fishing industry.
• Although AHFF is the smallest sector in terms of GDP, it is the second highest in
terms of number of workers.
• The AHFF sector plays a critical part in alleviating poverty through food security.

Challenges in the AHFF Sector

• A decline in the productivity of the sector that affects the domestic food security
indirectly affects every Filipino household.
• More agricultural lands are being transformed into commercial spaces.
• People from rural areas move to cities for a variety of reasons, but some popular ones
include the pursuit of higher studies and the search for job opportunities.
• The occurrence of natural catastrophes is another challenge faced by the AHFF
sector.
• Maritime incidents such as oil spills are detrimental to both livelihood and the
environment.
• The AHFF sector faces the continued decline in demand for farm workers.
• The share of agriculture in the GDP has continued to drop.

Government Programs that Aim to Support the AHFF Sector

CARP LAW
• R.A. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program)
• This is a land ownership program which mandates the redistribution of agricultural land
to farmers.
• This is regardless of the period that these farmers have been tending the land.
• The Department of Agrarian Reform is the government agency tasked to implement
agrarian reform programs.

PUNLA Credit Assistance

• Program for Unified Lending to Agriculture Program
• This aims to provide assistance to poor farmers and fisher folks.
• Four strategic pillars (accessibility and convenience of credit, lower interest rates,
increase in credit delivery channels, and guaranteed sustainability of credit).
Policy on Importation of Rice
• The National Food Authority is the government agency mandated to ensure food
security in the Philippines.
• NFA is mandated to maintain at least a 15-day inventory of rice at any given time
(“buffer stock”).

Policy on Drug Prevention

• Participate in providing alternative development/livelihood for marijuana cultivators
towards the improvement of farm income and generate work opportunities for farmers.
• Identify, develop, and promote suitable alternative cash crops that can be introduced
as substitute for marijuana.

• Provide irrigation systems, in coordination with the Department of Public Works and
Highways.
• Perform other tasks deemed appropriate.

Industry and Service Sectors

Industry Sector
• The second largest sector of the Philippines.
• This involved the actual building or creation of goods.
• Composed of the following: quarrying; manufacturing; construction; and electricity,
gas, and water supply

Role of the Industry Sector

• The industry sector includes industries directly involved in production.
• A bigger industry translates to more production.
• Greater production supports the move to a more industrialized state of the economy.

Quarrying – the excavations of stones, rocks, and similar materials.

Mining – the extraction of minerals such as gold, iron, copper, etc., from Earth.
• The Philippines is rich in mineral resources.

Manufacturing
• This is the biggest driver of the industry sector which translates for more opportunities
for business and employment.

Construction and Utilites

• Construction is responsible for 22% of the industry sector’s share in the GDP for 2016.
• “Quality utilities are prerequisite for effective poverty eradication” (ILO). This makes
the electricity, gas, and water supply industry a priority of the gov’t.
Relationship of AHFF and Industry Sectors
• Economies at first rely heavily on industries involving raw material extraction
(Agricultural sector).
• As it progresses, an economy puts more and more importance in building and
manufacturing (Industry sector).

Government Programs that Aim to Support the Industry Sector

• Filipino First Policy
• Oil Deregulation Law
• Policy on Micro Financing
• Policy on Online Business

The Service Sector

• This sector produces “intangible outputs – [through] the application of labor, skills, and
technology – that change the condition of products or persons, or that facilitate transfer
of knowledge or ownership, among others” (NEDA)

Role of Service Sector to the Economy

• This sector is the biggest sector of the Philippine economy in terms of GDP
contribution.
• Economies tend to move toward the development of the service sector in attaining
economic growth.
• The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is a major contributor to Philippine
economic growth.
• Another major service industry that contributes to the Philippine economy is tourism.

Government Programs that Aim to Support the Service Sector

• Reforms in the APEC Services
• Public-Private Dialogue (PPD)
• The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995

The Informal Sector

• This refers to businesses or business activities that are unregistered and thus, not
covered by the country’s laws and regulations.
• Small-time, household-run business, and unregistered street vendor are parts of the
informal sector.
• Workers in the informal economy are “independent, self-employed, small-scale
producers, and distributors of goods and services” (ILO).
• These are unrecognized businesses because they usually do not have permits to
operate.
Various Forms of the Informal Sector
Informal sector activities may be categorized into two:
• Survival activities; and
• Illegal activities

Survival Activities
• These refer to informal labor which may include unpaid and casual jobs. These types
of employment are often undocumented and do not pass official labor standards.

Illegal Activities
• These refer to business activities or jobs that entail intentionally evading the law and
government regulations. This category also includes those recognized as underground
activities such as crime and drug-related practices.
• Counterfeiting – this refers to the unauthorized reproduction of authentic or
genuine items. Counterfeiting results in the proliferation of fake products in the markets.
Currency is a popular target of counterfeiting.
• Piracy – this refers to unauthorized reproduction of works or content such as
visual media content and related software products. “Pirates” cleverly record movies
from cinemas then sell these recordings at a fraction of a regular movie ticket.
• Black market – this refers to the informal sector as a whole since it is
characterized by illegal business activities. Transactions here generally entail
circumventing existing laws and regulations. Black market is also referred to as
underground economy.

Effects of the Presence of an Informal Sector

• Informal sector serves as a breeding ground for unlawful activities and corruption.
• In terms of revenue, the government incurs losses in taxes otherwise collected from
illegal businesses have they been registered.
• The informal sector signifies that the government is incapable of eradicating
underground and illegal activities.
• It highlight its inability to provide enough jobs for everyone that some people are willing
to take typically poorer employment conditions.

Government Programs for the Informal Sector

• Demonetization of the old peso bills
• Republic Act 9485 “Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007”
• Anti-piracy campaign carried out by the Optical Media Board (OMB)

next page:)
Current State of the Economy – International Trade Organizations
International Trade and Fair Trade
• The Philippines has multilateral trade agreements with other nations.
• Fair Trade – this is the absence of discrimination in dealing with trading partners.

PH’s Role in International Trade Organization

• The Philippines is a member of the following trading blocs: Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation, ASEAN Economic Community, and the World Trade Organization.
• Protectionism – it refers to antitrade actions which aim to shield local producers from
foreign competition.
• General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade – it aims to spur economic recovery through
international trade.

World Trade Organization

Functions:
• A common forum for economies to establish global trade rules.
• Settle trade disputes between or among members.
• Facilitate negotiations on trade agreements.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

• It aims to attain sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region
with the involvement and active participation of its member economies.

Contribution of International Trade

• Trade among nations is beneficial for sustainable economic growth.
• Strong partnerships open up negotiations in areas such as employment, foreign
policies, and settlement of conflicts.

Government Economic Programs

• Policy on ASEAN Economic Community 2015
• Policy on Trade Liberalization
Globalization
• It refers to the interdependence of economies across the world driven by the need to
improve efficient, reduce costs, and achieve fair competition.
• It entails opening up the local market to foreign investors and businesses
• It allows access to products from all over the world
Effects of Globalization
• Technology and Innovation – covers the spread of innovations and the technological
advances; increase connectivity among individuals and institutions
• Economies of Scale – globalization allows firms to increase production by taking
advantage of cheaper labor and operational costs in other countries
• Foreign Investments – allows global companies to invest in the domestic market;
foreign direct investments create job opportunities and allows capital to flow into the
economy