WESTERN Visayas registered an economic growth of 4.3 percent in 2024, pushing its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) to P641.76 billion. At first glance, this is cause for optimism. But beneath the surface of celebration is an uncomfortable truth: the region’s growth is increasingly lopsided, revealing a deepening divide between its booming services and industry sectors, and its faltering agricultural base.
The services sector, accounting for 66.5 percent of the regional economy, remains the top performer, led by retail trade, transportation, and financial services. The industry sector, though slowed, still posted a 3.9 percent increase. In contrast, the Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF) sector — a lifeline for many rural households — barely moved. It contributed only 14.5 percent to the total GRDP, and its growth was described as “stagnant,” hindered by erratic weather patterns, low livestock output, and zero growth in forestry for the second consecutive year.
This disparity is not merely economic — it is social, cultural, and moral. In a region where a significant portion of the population still relies on agriculture for survival, the continued neglect of this sector risks entrenching poverty in rural areas. When crop production falters due to El Niño, or when fishing communities suffer from dwindling catch without support for diversification or sustainability, families are pushed to the margins. The result? A slow, painful erosion of the rural economy.
What kind of development are we fostering when farmers, who once fed this region, are now increasingly dependent on low-paying jobs in urban centers or forced to leave their land behind? Is growth truly meaningful when it excludes those who form the backbone of our cultural and economic heritage?
To bridge this widening economic divide, policy must pivot. Modernizing agriculture is not optional — it is urgent. This means investing in climate-resilient technologies, expanding irrigation, mechanizing production, and strengthening rural infrastructure. It also requires inclusive financing models that reach even the smallest farmer and fisherfolk.
The proposed infrastructure projects — like the Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge — hold promise, but they must be leveraged not just for commerce and tourism, but for connecting agricultural goods to markets, for reducing transport costs, and for making rural livelihoods more viable and profitable.
Western Visayas cannot afford to grow unevenly. A future built on a crumbling agricultural foundation is a future fraught with social instability, food insecurity, and rural despair. The region must rebalance its priorities — so that industry may thrive, but not at the cost of agriculture’s decline. The divide is real. Bridging it must begin now.
