NEDA sees economic rebound in Region 1 this year
THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has laid down some strategies to ensure the economic recovery in Region 1, whose growth performance dropped to negative 7.7 percent in 2020 because of the pandemic.
This was bared by Irenea Ubungen, assistant regional director of NEDA Region 1, who blamed the region’s economic downturn last year to the sudden plunge of the service as well as the industry sectors owing principally to travel restrictions as well as closure of many establishments.
Region 1 comprises the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.
She told the PIA Kapehan sa Ilocos on June 15 that the only positive growth registered by the region last year was in agriculture but she conceded that its gain was only minimal.
She said to ensure the region’s economic recovery, agriculture as well as the industry sector and the latter’s construction sub-sector, which was the most affected industry during the pandemic, must be enhanced.
According to Ubungen, the reopening of industries especially those involved in services and those dealing on accommodation and tourism, could help bring back the vitality of the economy in the region.
Ubungen said the Build-Build-Build program of the government can help accelerate the phase of development in the region.
In the same occasion, Department of Agriculture Executive Director Nestor Domenden revealed that no new cases of the African Swine Fever (ASF) has been reported among hogs in the whole of Region 1 for almost a month now.
He said because of this encouraging development, the DA is in the process of disinfecting pig pens and farms preparatory to giving sentinel pigs to selected backyard raisers to grow and to test whether the ASF virus was already gone.
On the ASF indemnification program, Domenden said the DA already released P120 million cumulative assistance to swine raisers whose infected hogs were culled during the onslaught of the disease. He said DA is continuing to process claims of owners of pigs that were reported late. (Leonardo Micua)
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