Davao region’s economy grows slower in 2024

Farmers thresh newly-harvested palay in Bansalan, Davao del Sur on Friday, 21 February 2025. A sluggish agriculture sector slows down the economic growth of the Davao region in 2024. MindaNews photo

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 April) –  A sluggish agricultural sector slowed down the economic growth of the Davao region last year, officials said Tuesday upon the release of data from the Philippine Statistics Authority – Region XI.

Randolph Anthony Gales, PSA-XI officer-in-charge, said that as measured by the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and Gross Regional Domestic Expenditure (GRDE), the regional economy grew by 6.3 percent to P1.08 trillion in 2024.

The growth, however, was slower from the 6.7 percent recorded in 2023 valued at P1.02 trillion, data showed.

Gales attributed the slower growth to the unstable weather conditions affecting the agricultural sector.

For Davao region’s agriculture, forestry, and fishing (IFF) sector, it was valued at P146.93 billion in 2024, a 0.4 percentage decrease from the P147.45 billion in 2023.

The economic performance is measured by the GRDP and the GRDE. The GRDP is the total value of all goods and services produced within a specific region in a given period, while the GRDE refers to the total amount of money spent on goods and services within a region, which includes the consumption, investments, government spending, and net imports and exports.

In a press conference at the Apo View Hotel Tuesday morning, Priscilla Senido, National Economic Development Authority – Region XI regional director, said the decline of the agriculture sector was caused by extreme weather conditions such as the trough of low pressure area and droughts, especially last year.

She added that it might continue to affect food production in the region, urging the Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and other related agencies to ensure “that food supply will be stable and sustainable.”

Ma. Febe Orbe, DA-XI project evaluation officer, explained that the changing weather conditions, such as extreme heat or wet periods, can significantly affect agricultural and fishery productions.

“For example, when it comes to rice, we only have a sufficiency level of 54 percent for 2024. It means that even if we are an agricultural region, it doesn’t mean that all varieties of rice will thrive in extreme weather conditions,” Orbe told reporters.

The affected agricultural products include rice, banana, tomato, and coffee, among others, data showed.

“The sustainability of the agriculture and fisheries sector always depends on climatic conditions,” Orbe said.

She also noted that animal diseases, such as swine flu, remains a threat in the region.

While the IFF sector declined, the services sector dominated Davao region’s economy in 2024 at P661.62 billion. The industry sector was valued at P273.94 billion for the period.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.7 percent in 2024, higher than the 5.5 percent growth in 2023.

In 2024, the Davao region’s economic performance placed fourth among the country’s 18 regions, a notch higher from its fifth-place ranking in 2023.

The Davao region is  considered as the largest economy in Mindanao with a value of P1.082 trillion, followed by Northern Mindanao with P1.043 trillion, SOCCSKSARGEN region with P550.07 billion, Zamboanga Peninsula with P465.70 billion, Caraga region with P362.76 billion, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with P299.48 billion. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)