Poverty In Leyte-Samar Worsens After ‘Yolanda’

The poverty rate in Eastern Visayas has worsened after super typhoon Yolanda. This was learned from the poverty situationer shared by the National Development Economic Authority during an agrarian reform forum on Tuesday.

According to Annielyn Constiniano, NEDA economic development specialist, the poverty situation in the region has gone worse in the past four years.

From 41.4 percent in 2006, poverty incidence among its population went up to 43.8 percent in 2009, 45.12 percent in 2012 and 47.3 percent last year.

Based on the 2012 Regional Social and Economic Trends, children are the most poor among nine basic sectors at 50.8 percent followed by farmers (46.7 percent) and fishermen (45.7 percent).

The high poverty incidence has affected the region’s economic performance. In fact, Eastern Visayas has not met its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) target of 6-7 percent for the past 10 years as its average growth rate for 2004-2014 was a modest 2 percent. Its highest growth rate was 5.8 percent in 2004.

Eastern Visayas’ worst GRDP rate was -6.2 percent in 2012 as a result of the six-month shutdown of Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. which for Constiniano is not good as it shows that the region’s economy is highly dependent in just one company.

It also shows that the local economy is dominated by the industry sector at 45 percent followed by services at 35 percent, then agriculture, hunting fishing and forestry (AHFF) at only 20 percent. This is also not a healthy indicator considering that majority of the region’s workers are in the services (48 percent) and AHFF (38 percent) sectors where unemployment is high while industry employs only 14 percent.

In 2013, Eastern Visayas registered the third lowest agricultural productivity rate at only P58,607.76 per hectare.

Constiniano attributed this to the region’s vulnerability to disasters, high cost of farm inputs and underutilized lands. To fix the problem, she called on the farmers to make their lands productive.

“Let us not leave our lands uncultivated. There are many strategies taught by government to make farms more productive. Intercropping has been introduced to coconut farmers,” she said.

Constiniano chided beneficiaries of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and non-government organizations (NGO) who put to waste the assistance they received.

“There are those who do not utilize properly the lands given by Dar and assistance provided by different agencies. Let’s not waste the assistance extended to us not only by the government but by NGOs as well. Some farmer-beneficiaries opt to sell the lands awarded them to the original owners,” she said. (PNA) LAP/SQM/FELIX N. CODILLA/EGR