Agriculture

While the country is well positioned to tap into new export markets, volatile weather conditions, land reform issues and a legacy of neglect continue to hinder agricultural output, preventing the Philippine agriculture sector from reaching its true potential. In addition to these constraints, the Philippines lags behind regional competitors in mechanisation adoption rates, crop research and access to finance. While the sector has suffered from low total factor productivity – a measure of land, labour, capital and material resources used in production, compared to total agricultural output – the country has natural attributes that make it well placed to achieve greater agricultural diversification and productivity. This chapter also contains an interview with Henry Lim Bon Liong, Chairman and CEO, SL Agritech.