Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said on Tuesday the agriculture sector could grow up to 5 percent for 2016, citing expected bumper harvest for the rest of the year.

"Hopefully, we will be able to recover (in the fourth quarter)," Pinol said as he also expressed hope average farm output could be 3.5-5.0 percent.

Pinol projects high growth in the last quarter after the agriculture sector posted two consecutive declines of 4.4 percent and 2.8 percent for the first and second quarters, respectively, and 2.98 percent growth in the third quarter.

For the fourth quarter, Pinol said main drivers of growth would be crops and livestock.

During Christmas season, he said there is a strong demand for agricultural products.

Pinol admitted that his projection was based on his "gut feel and visual appreciation" after he visited many areas.

Next year Pinol said he expects the agriculture sector to grow by at least 7 percent.

His forecast was based on expected increase in demand of agricultural products, such as bananas and pineapples from Japan and China.

He expects that with Duterte's planned visit next year to Russia, there could be an increase of agricultural exports to that country.

Pinol said the agriculture department is ready to help fishermen affected by the dismantling of most fish cages and pens in Laguna de Bay.

He said about 30 percent of Metro Manila’s fish supply come from Laguna de Bay.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said last week it would no longer renew the permits of huge fish cages and pens operators in the lake starting January 2017. Celerina Monte/DMS