NEDA says agri is key to sustainable employment
The farm sector will play a key role in sustaining employment opportunities, but the realities of climate change require strategies to mitigate negative effects.
The agriculture sector, which now makes up less than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), could be a source of steady employment, said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
“With the end of the El Niño episode and the increasing possibility of a transition to La Niña in the second half of 2010, there is a need to implement disaster risk management strategies and other precautionary measures against floods and rain-induced landslides in hazard-prone areas,” said NEDA director-general Augusto Santos.
“This would mitigate as well as prevent any further adverse effects of natural disasters on the country’s economy, especially in agriculture and employment,” he said.
The El Niño dry spell dampened employment, resulting in total employment of almost 35.4 million in April from 35 million last year.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, rose by 8% from 7.5% for a total of 3.1 million in April 2010, according to the results of the latest Labor Force Survey.
Santos said workers in the agriculture, fishery and forestry sectors decreased by
6.5% as the intensifying El Niño took its toll on employment in the sector.
The agriculture, hunting and forestry, and fishing subsectors suffered net employment losses of 771,000 and 31,000.
