Malacanang vowed on Friday to further strengthen assistance to agriculture after the sector was one of the reasons for slower economic growth last year.

"We will strengthen agriculture through more focused assistance, with the end in view of addressing farmers' livelihood concerns, increasing their productivity, and ensuring supply stability and food security for our people," said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles in a statement.

He said the Duterte administration will examine the expansion of credit and loan facilities through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

Nograles noted that last year President Rodrigo Duterte directed the LBP, in close coordination with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform, to reach out to farmers and provide them with financial assistance.

He said this led to the DAR's launching of a new lending facility called the Accessible and Sustainable Lending Program for Small Farmers, or ASL Farmers Program, which sets a low 6 percent per annum interest rate.

"We're assessing response to the program so that we can tweak and make improvements. The ASL Program has credit components to individual farmers, farmers cooperatives, and agri-based associations, so it's really comprehensive," said Nograles, a former legislator from Davao.

He said the government this year "will maximize all resources available to ensure that the agriculture sector is a driver of the country's economic growth."

In a press briefing on Thursday on the country's economic performance, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia cited the slump in agriculture as one of the factors for the government's failure to meet its revised 6.5-6.9 percent economic growth last year. The economy expanded by 6.2 percent in 2018.

He said agriculture growth slowed to 0.8 percent from 4.0 percent last year, with palay production contracting by 1.0 percent. Celerina Monte/DMS