Agriculture in the Philippines

Agriculture in the Philippines employs 27.7% of the Filipino workforce as of 2017, according to the World Bank. Agriculture employs 30% of the Filipino workforce as of 2014. Agriculture accounts for 11% of Philippines GDP as of 2014. The type of activity ranges from small subsistence farming and fishing to large commercial ventures with significant export focus.

The Philippines is the world’s largest producer of coconuts producing 19,500,000 tons in 2009. Coconut production in the Philippines is generally concentrated in medium-sized farms. The Philippines is also the world’s largest producer of pineapples, producing 2,458,420 million metric tons in 2013.

Rice production in the Philippines is important to the food supply in the country and economy. The Philippines is the 8th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8% of global rice production. The Philippines was also the world’s largest rice importer in 2010. Rice is the most important food crop, a staple food in most of the country. It is produced extensively in Luzon (especially Central Luzon), Western Visayas, Southern Mindanao and Central Mindanao.

The Philippines is one of the largest producers of sugar in the world. At least 17 provinces located in eight regions of the nation have grown sugarcane crops, of which the Negros Island Region accounts for half of the country’s total production. As of Crop Year 2012-2013, 29 mills are operational divided as follows: 13 mills in Negros, 6 mills in Luzon, 4 mills in Panay, 3 mills in Eastern Visayas and 3 mills in Mindanao. A range from 360,000 to 390,000 hectares are devoted to sugarcane production. The largest sugarcane areas are found in the Negros Island Region, which accounts for 51% of sugarcane areas planted. This is followed by Mindanao which accounts for 20%; Luzon by 17%; Panay by 07% and Eastern Visayas by 04%.

Rice
The Philippines is the 8th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8% of global rice production. The Philippines was also the world’s largest rice importer in 2010. In 2010, nearly 15.7 million metric tons of palay (pre-husked rice) were produced. In 2010, palay accounted for 21.86% percent of gross value added in agriculture and 2.37% of GNP. Self-sufficiency in rice reached 88.93% in 2015.

Rice production in the Philippines has grown significantly since the 1950s. Improved varieties of rice developed during the Green Revolution, including at the International Rice Research Institute based in the Philippines have improved crop yields. Crop yields have also improved due to increased use of fertilisers. Average productivity increased from 1.23 metric tons per hectare in 1961 to 3.59 metric tons per hectare in 2009.

Harvest Yields have increased significantly by using foliar fertilizer (Rc 62 -> 27% increase, Rc 80 -> 40% increase, Rc 64 -> 86% increase) based on PhilRice National Averages.

The table below shows some of the agricultural products of the country per region.

Region Rice Corn Coconut Sugarcane Pineapple Watermelon Banana
Ilocos Region 1,777,122 490,943 39,463 19,512 197 26,936 43,164
Cordillera (CAR) 400,911 237,823 1,165 51,787 814 141 26,576
Cagayan Valley 2,489,647 1,801,194 77,118 583,808 35,129 7,416 384,134
Central Luzon 3,304,310 271,319 167,737 678,439 1,657 7,103 58,439
Metro Manila 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CALABARZON 392,907 64,823 1,379,297 1,741,706 88,660 2,950 96,306
MIMAROPA 1,081,833 125,492 818,146 0 448 3,192 168,299
Bicol Region 1,264,448 243,908 1,105,743 239,010 130,595 5,598 76,452
Western Visayas 1,565,585 213,362 294,547 1,682,940 12,687 83,336 200,222
Negros Island Region 557,632 185,747 274,315 13,440,259 9,468 546 157,974
Central Visayas 269,801 101,333 274,069 241,573 998 1,161 126,220
Eastern Visayas 955,709 91,145 1,165,867 179,363 7,186 670 227,223
Zamboanga Peninsula 661,775 220,180 1,682,121 107 1,657 638 281,856
Northern Mindanao 725,120 1,216,301 1,851,702 3,065,463 1,468,386 2,024 1,832,173
Davao Region 441,868 224,100 2,246,188 208,743 26,880 1,070 3,455,014
SOCCSKSARGEN 1,291,644 1,239,275 1,159,818 680,383 794,334 2,132 1,159,091
CARAGA Region 653,431 118,774 804,722 0 2,682 3,010 259,738
ARMM 488,215 673,036 1,393,168 113,343 921 80 531,048

Sugar
There are at least 19 provinces and 11 regions that produce sugarcane in the Philippines. A range from 360,000 to 390,000 hectares are devoted to sugarcane production. The largest sugarcane areas are found in the Negros Island Region, which accounts for 51% of sugarcane areas planted. This is followed by Mindanao which accounts for 20%; Luzon by 17%; Panay by 07%; and Eastern Visayas by 04%. It is estimated that as of 2012, the industry provides direct employment to 700,000 sugarcane workers spread across 19 sugar producing provinces.

Sugar growing in the Philippines pre-dates colonial Spanish contact. Sugar became the most important agricultural export of the Philippines between the late eighteenth century and the mid-1970s. During the 1950s and 60s, more than 20 percent income of Philippine exports came from the sugar industry. Between 1913 to 1974, the Philippines sugar industry enjoyed favoured terms of trade with the US, with special access to the protected and subsidized the American sugar market.

Coconuts
Coconuts plays an important role in the national economy of the Philippines. According to figures published in December 2015 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it is the world’s largest producer of coconuts, producing 19,500,000 tonnes in 2015. Production in the Philippines is generally concentrated in medium-sized farms. There are 3.5 million hectares dedicated to coconut production in the Philippines, which accounts for 25 per cent of total agricultural land in the country. In 1989, it was estimated that between 25 percent and 33 percent of the population was at least partly dependent on coconuts for their livelihood. Historically, the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions of Luzon and the Eastern Visayas were the centers of coconut production. In the 1980s, Western Mindanao and Southern Mindanao also became important coconut-growing regions.

Abaca
According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, the Philippines provided 87.4% of the world’s abaca in 2014, earning the Philippines US$111.33 million. The demand is still greater than the supply. The remainder came from Ecuador (12.5%) and Costa Rica (0.1%). The Bicol region in the Philippines produced 27,885 metric tons of abaca in 2014, the largest of any Philippine region. The Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP) and the Department of Agriculture reported that in 2009-2013, Bicol Region had 39% share of Philippine abaca producution while overwhelming 92% comes from Catanduanes Island. Eastern Visayas, the second largest producer had 24% and the Davao Region, the third largest producer had 11% of the total production. Around 42 percent of the total abaca fiber shipments from the Philippines went to the United Kingdom in 2014, making it the top importer. Germany imported 37.1 percent abaca pulp from the Philippines, importing around 7,755 metric tons (MT). Sales of abaca cordage surged 20 percent in 2014 to a total of 5,093 MT from 4,240 MT, with the United States holding around 68 percent of the market.

Fruits
The Philippines is the world’s third largest producer of pineapples, producing more than 2.4 million of tonnes in 2015. The Philippines was in the top three banana producing countries in 2010, including India and China. Davao and Mindanao contribute heavily to the total national banana crop. Mangoes are the third most important fruit crop of the country based on export volume and value next to bananas and pineapples.

Corn
Corn is the second most important crop in the Philippines. 600,000 farm households are employed in different businesses in the corn value chain. As of 2012, around 2.594 Million ha of land is under corn cultivation and the total production is 7.408 million metric ton(MMT).

Rubber
There are an estimated 458,000 families dependent upon the cultivation of rubber trees. Rubber is mainly planted in Mindanao, with some plantings in Luzon and the Visayas. As of 2013, the total rubber production is 111,204 tons.

Source from Wikipedia