MANILA, May 8 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said government interventions helped alleviate the impacts of the El Nino phenomenon on the agriculture and fisheries sector, as shown by the sector's production for the first quarter of 2024.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), agri-fishery production grew by 0.05 percent in the first three months of the year, valued at PHP428.99 billion, which is slightly higher than the PHP428.79 billion for the same period in 2023.

"Interventions and assistance provided by the government allowed the agriculture sector to fare better this time compared to periods in the past when we had El Nino," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

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