Agriculture in the Philippines employs 47% of the Filipino workforce as of
2013, according to World Bank statistics. Agriculture accounts for 12%
of Filipino GDP as of 2013, according to the World Bank.
Agricultural products = 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 were
produced. In 2010, palay accounted for 21.86% percent of gross value added in
agriculture and 2.37% of GNP. 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 based on PhilRice National Averages.
= 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 Negros which accounts for 51% of sugarcane
areas planted. This is followed by Mindanao which accounts for 20%; Luzon,
17%; Panay islands, 7% and Eastern Visayas, 4%. 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 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 and 1974, the Philippines sugar industry enjoyed favoured terms of trade
with the US, with special access to the protected and subsidized U.S. sugar
market. = Coconuts =
Coconuts plays an important role in the national economy of the Philippines.
According to figures published in December 2009 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 2009. 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. = Fruit =
The Philippines is the world's largest producer of pineapples, producing 2,198
thousand metric tons in 2009. 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 38,000 families
dependent upon the cultivation of rubber trees. Rubber is mainly planted in
Mindanao, with some plantings in Luzon and the Visayas.
See also Coffee production in the Philippines
Ostrich farming in the Philippines Crocodile farming in the Philippines
Federation of Free Farmers Government:
Department of Agriculture Land Bank of the Philippines
Land reform: Land reform in the Philippines
Agricultural Land Reform Code Department of Agrarian Reform
General: Economy of the Philippines
References Further reading
Jesus, Ed. C. De. The Tobacco Monopoly in the Philippines: Bureaucratic
Enterprise and Social Change, 1766-1880. Ateneo University Press. ISBN
9715501680. Retrieved 24 April 2014. External links