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CROP DIVERSIFICATION IN THE PHILIPPINES - Rene Rafael C. Espino and Cenon S. Atienza*

* Programme Director and Consultant, High Value Commercial Crop Programme, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
1. INTRODUCTION

The Philippine economy is largely dependent on agriculture. Of the approximately 73 million population in 1998, the agriculture sector employs more than 11 million people and about 26 percent of these are women. There are about 29 million people dependent on agriculture.

In 1998, the total area planted to crops was 11.6 million hectares. Of these, 5.5 million hectares are devoted to rice and corn, 4.8 million hectares for major crops and 1.3 million hectares for other crops. Major crop products exported include coconut, sugar, pineapple, banana, coffee and mango. On the other hand, rice and corn continue to be imported to meet the demand of the growing population.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is the government agency responsible for all agricultural activities in the country. The DA has a number of staff bureaus and attached agencies that conduct activities on crop production, regulation and R&D. The attached agencies look at a specific crop, e.g., the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) for rice, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) for sugar cane, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) for coconut, the Fibre Development Authority (FIDA) for abaca and other fibre crops, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) for tobacco, and the Cotton Development Authority (CODA) for cotton. On the other hand, the staff bureaus like the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the Bureau of Post-Harvest Research and Extension (BPRE), the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), the Bureau of Agricultural and Fishery Product Standards (BAFPS), and the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) have multi-crop responsibilities.

A crop diversification scheme is largely dependent on climatic conditions. There are four climate types in the Philippines, namely, Type I with two pronounced seasons, dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year; Type II with no dry season and with very pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January; Type III where seasons are not very pronounced and relatively dry from November to January; and Type IV where rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.

The DA has adopted crop diversification as a strategy to promote and hasten agricultural development. As such, this paper presents crop diversification in two perspectives. One aspect is planting a cash crop after the main crop and the other is planting intercrops (permanent or cash crops) in-between the main crop, usually a permanent crop. This strategy helps attain the goal of the Department in increasing productivity and farm income notwithstanding the benefit of environmental conservation.

The objectives of this paper are threefold, namely: a) to review the existing crop diversification schemes in the country; b) to present the opportunities and constraints in the adoption of crop diversification; and c) to review government policies related to crop diversification.

2. CROP PRODUCTION AND ECONOMICS SCENARIO

2.1 Crop Production Area

In the 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries, there were 9.97 million hectares of agricultural land (BAS, 1997). Of these, 55.3 percent of the farmlands were used for growing temporary crops and 41.8 percent were planted to permanent crops. There were 4.61 million farms and the average national farm size was 2.16 hectares; 37 percent of the farms were less than a hectare in size.

The total area devoted to agriculture has been declining. It can be noted in Table 1 that in 1989, the area for agriculture was 13,147,100 hectares; in 1998, this was reduced to 11,664,600 hectares, a decrease of 1.48 million hectares. Cereal crops dominate the production area for the period under review considering rice and corn to be the staple foods of the Filipinos. From 1989 to 1993, more area was planted to corn than rice; however, from 1994 to 1998, more area was used for rice production.

Coconut, banana, sugar cane, cassava, and pineapple are considered major crops in terms of area planted and export potential. Among the commercial crops, it is interesting to note that there was a tremendous increase in area planted to mango, that is, from 56,400 hectares in 1989 to 93,900 hectares in 1998. This can be attributed to the export potential of this fruit.

2.2 Volume of Crop Production

Table 2 presents the annual production of both major and minor crops in the Philippines. Lowest production for both rice and corn was observed in 1998 at 8,554.8 metric tonnes and 3,823.2 metric tonnes, respectively. However, in 1999 (report of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics), rice production increased to 11,700 metric tonnes (27.4 percent increase) while corn production increased by 761.4 metric tonnes (16.6 percent increase).

There is a declining trend in coconut production. Lowest production was observed during the last two years. This has been attributed to felling of trees for lumber production and the relatively old coconut trees. On the other hand, mango production increased due to the increase in area planted. Highest production was observed in 1997 (987.1 metric tonnes). In general, the production of major and other crops did not change dramatically during the period under review.

The low production of agricultural crops in 1998 was due to the occurrence of typhoons “Loleng” and “Gading”.

2.3 Yield Per Hectare of Agricultural Crops

Table 3 shows the average yield per hectare of agricultural crops. The average yield per hectare of rice and corn is low at 2.6-2.9 metric tonnes per hectare and 1.2-1.6 metric tonnes per hectare, respectively. There is a continuous decline in the yield of sugar cane. From a high of 81.8 metric tonnes per hectare in 1989 this decreased to only 52.5 metric tonnes per hectare in 1998, a decrease of about 35 percent.

The average yield of mango and rubber is increasing. In mango, the average yield increased from a mere 5 metric tonnes per hectare in 1989-1992 to 10 metric tonnes per hectare in 1997-1998. Rubber yield increased from a low of 1.99 metric tonnes in 1989 to 2.44 metric tonnes in 1998.

2.4 Share of Crops in National Agricultural GDP and Trade

From 1992 to 1996, agriculture contributed 20.93-22.28 percent of the GDP. Latest statistics show that in 1994-1998 (BAS, 1999) the Philippine economy grew by an average of 4.55 percent in terms of GNP or 3.92 percent in terms of GDP. The country's economic performance before 1998 had real growth in GDP from 4.39-5.85 percent. The regional currency crisis and adverse weather conditions in 1997-1998 greatly affected the economy.

From Table 4, it is evident that the percent share of agriculture to GNP is decreasing both at current and constant prices. The Gross Value Added in agriculture has been increasing (Table 5). However, the crops sector posted negative growth in 1990 and 1998, that is, -0.78 and -12.86, respectively.

2.5 Trade of Crop Products

Table 6 presents the agricultural foreign trade statistics from 1989 to 1998. The value of agricultural imports was lower than the value of exports from 1989 to 1993. From 1994 to 1998, however, the reverse can be noted.

The volume of sugar exported is on the decline. This can be attributed to decreasing area devoted to sugar production, lower production per unit area and high production cost. Likewise, decreasing export volumes of desiccated coconut, coffee and copra are evident. However, increasing export volumes can be noted in coconut oil, copra oil and banana.

3. PATTERNS OF CROP DIVERSIFICATION

With growing population, urbanization and industrialization, the area devoted to crop production has been declining. As a result, new strategies were formulated and crop diversification is one of these. As a strategy, crop diversification maximizes the use of land and optimizes farm productivity and incomes.

There are several factors associated with crop diversification. According to Gonzales (1989), the adoption of crop diversification schemes is dictated by both physical and economic factors. Physical factors include land capability, rainfall patterns, water quality, crop suitability and technology. Economic factors, on the other hand, include costs, prices, markets, and economic viability of alternative cropping schemes (Adriano and Cabezon, 1989).

Farmers have shifted to rice-based farming systems due to constraints like inadequate water, land suitability and climatic conditions (Obcemea et al., 1996). Furthermore, they attributed adoption of this scheme to income stability, increasing demand for non-rice crops, and high profitability per unit area.

Francisco (1995) reported that three factors determine the farmer's choice of rice cropping system. These are farmers' technical knowledge in growing the crop, adaptability of the crop to the local conditions, and amount of resources available to finance the production expenses. Aside from these are market forces that affect prices of both the output and inputs and level of government support extended to the cultivation of both major and other crops.

3.1 Diversification in Rice Lands

Diversification in rice lands started in the 1970's when researchers began developing technologies and strategies for optimizing farm productivity (Galvez, 1990). According to Adriano and Cabezon (1989), diversification of specific non-rice crops in irrigated lands began only during the mid-1980s. This government policy was adopted to raise farm incomes and intensify employment opportunities in the rural areas.

The International Rice Research Institute (based in the Philippines) initiated rice-based cropping studies in the mid-1970's (Miranda and Panabokke, 1989). This led to the introduction of crops other than rice during the dry season following the wet season rice crop.

In the rainfed and upland areas of the Philippines, there are 25 rice-based patterns with rice as the main crop followed by another crop (Adriano, 1989). According to the National Agricultural Research and Extension Agenda (BAR, 1989), cropping patterns differ by geographical location (Table 7).

A wide range of crops can be grown after rice depending on rainfall and availability of water, elevation and land features of the environment. Corn, tobacco, garlic, and legumes are the major crops after rice in these four regions. In 1991-1995, rainfed lowland rice-based cropping systems, namely, rice-corn, rice-garlic, rice-mungbean, rice-sweet pepper, and rice-tomato were evaluated in Ilocos Norte as part of the Rainfed Lowland Rice Research Consortium implemented by Mariano Marcos State University, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and IRRI (Obcemea et al., 1996; Yokohama et al., 1998).

In a nationwide survey done by PhilRice in the last two years (unpublished), six major cropping patters, namely, rice-rice, rice-vegetables, rice-fish, rice-corn, rice-legumes, and others, were studied. The percentage of each cropping pattern was determined aside from information such as area devoted to rice farming, number of rice farmers, average landholding, tenurial status, seed production area, and local problems in rice production.

3.2 Diversification in Coconut Lands

In coconut, diversification means the simultaneous growing of one or more crops in a coconut area. Cash crops or permanent crops can be grown depending on a number of factors. These are the environment (soil, topography, and climate), socio-economic (tenure and capital) and technical (available technology and management requirements) factors that could either be within or beyond the control of the farmers (PCARRD, 1993). Furthermore, eight important considerations have been identified in intercropping coconut. These are: amenability of coconut farms to intercropping, available market, favourable climate, suitable soil conditions, favourable slope of the land, farmers' resources and attitudes, technical and working arrangements, and availability of good planting materials.

A wide range of crops can be grown under coconut. Permanent crops like coffee, cacao, abaca, lanzones and other fruit trees can be established. Cash crops, on the other hand, include corn, peanut, sweet potato, pineapple, banana, mungbean, arrowroot, ramie and vegetables, among others.

As stated earlier, one or more permanent and cash crops can be grown under coconut. When a combination of crops of varying heights, rooting system, and canopy patterns to maximize utilization of sunlight, soil nutrients, and moisture is grown, this is referred to as a multi-storey cropping pattern. This pattern consists of three levels, namely, coconut as the top floor, perennials as the mid-storey crops and low-growing annuals as the ground floor crops. Aside from the multi-storey cropping system, Felizardo (1988) reported that livestock and poultry are grown under coconut in a number of provinces in the country.

The suitability of the above-mentioned crops as intercrops has been extensively studied. The climatic and soil requirements of most intercrops have been determined. There are a number of technoguides, brochures, manuals and pamphlets that detail crop varieties to be used, cultural management practices and post-harvest and storage operations. In most cases, the profitability of intercropping with coconut is included in these publications.

3.3 Successful Crop Diversification Patterns

Table 8 presents the documented successful crop diversification practices in the Philippines. According to Adriano (1989), garlic production exceeded that of irrigated rice in the Ilocos region. Likewise, onion production was very profitable in the Central Luzon Region. Similar results were reported by Gonzales in 1989; in Ilocos and Central Luzon regions, the highest profit was obtained from onion, peanut and garlic.

As intercrops of coconut, passion fruit, banana, pineapple, and cacao have been documented to give high net returns. Research using black pepper + papaya/cacao + pineapple under 17-year old coconut conducted in Davao Research Centre produced a net profit of PHP 8,234 per hectare per cropping as against PHP 2,494 from coconut alone.

4. CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND PROSPECTS OF CROP DIVERSIFICATION

Moya and Miranda (1989) discussed the technical, social and institutional issues in diversifying rice areas. Technical issues include the intricate and differential relationships among edaphic, climatic, hydrologic, biotic and agronomic properties of the flooded rice environment and dryland non-rice production systems. Socio-economic issues are hinged on profitability of cultivating non-rice crops compared to rice, availability of markets and unstable prices of non-rice crops. On the other hand, institutional issues include irrigation service fee payment, level of government support and farmer participation.

In the rice-onion cropping system, farmers encountered more economic than technical problems. Production-related problems include lack of capital and high cost of inputs (Marzan, 1989).

In a preliminary study conducted by Cablayan and Valera (1989), four constraints to crop diversification were identified. These were dry season rainfall, availability of irrigation water for rice, limited irrigation management and inappropriate on-farm irrigation and drainage facilities. Furthermore, they noted that farmers in some areas were unfamiliar with growing non-rice crops under irrigation. Unstable farm gate prices deter many farmers from practicing diversification.

Adriano and Cabezon (1989) discussed in detail the emerging economic issues and constraints to crop diversification. Vital economic issues include matching supply and demand, reallocation of investments, and strengthening of institutional linkages.

In a review on rainfed lowland rice-based cropping systems done by Obcemea et. al. (1996), a list of factors that influence farmers to diversify to non-rice crops was presented. These were income stability, increasing demand for vegetables and non-rice crops, and higher profitability per unit area. Market supply and demand, stability of prices, cost of inputs and quality of non-rice products were identified as economic factors affecting crop diversification. Other equally important factors include availability of irrigation water, land suitability, climatic conditions, availability of management technology, time constraints caused by the presence of the rice crop, farmers' preference, resource base, influence of neighbouring farmers or extension agents, and land tenure.

In a study involving 266 farmers cultivating tobacco, cotton, tomato, onion, mungbean, garlic, corn, and peanut, Gonzales-Intal and Valera (1989) identified conditions conducive to crop diversification. These were low income from other sources, profitability as seen from other farmers, sufficient rice supply for one's own consumption, availability of seeds, insufficient water supply, experience, perception of high market prices for the crop, and presence of technical and institutional support.

5. GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR CROP DIVERSIFICATION

In order to strengthen the agriculture sector, crop diversification was identified as a strategy in the Medium-Term Philippine development Plan, 1987-1992. This strategy was pursued to support food security, greater employment opportunities, increased farm incomes, and reduced dependence on traditional export commodities which are facing declining demand in the world market (Adriano and Cabezon, 1989).

At the Department of Agriculture, a National Committee on Crop Diversification (NCCD) was created in 1992. This committee is inter-agency in nature and its main function was planning and implementation of a crop diversification programme. Four commodity-based plans were prepared which include rice, corn, coconut and sugar cane. These plans were used in the preparation of the DA's Medium Term Development Plan in the early 1990's (Pecson, 1993).

A number of economic policies to promote crop diversification were formulated by the Philippine government (Adriano and Cabezon, 1989). In pricing policy, the government reduced the price support for rice with the view that some farmers will shift to alternative cash crops. Likewise, the government wants to reduce its direct intervention function in the marketing of rice by relying more on the private sector both to trade (domestic and international) and to hold stocks.

Tax and tariff policies were adopted to eliminate import quotas and minimize the number of permits required for importation and lower the average tariff level. Likewise, there was abolition of all export taxes. Gradual elimination of all subsidies is a national policy. In the agriculture sector, subsidies were gradually eliminated since pricing of inputs and outputs has already been deregulated.

Increased public expenditures on R&D and other rural infrastructure facilities are stipulated in the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997. From a low 0.2 percent of the GVA allocated for research, there has been a substantial increase in government allocation for R&D. By the year 2002, R&D investment will be 1 percent of the GVA. A number of development programmes include investment in rural roads, transport and communications. As a result of these, an efficient price system is created which is a potent promotion for crop diversification.

Crop diversification in rice and corn areas will proceed favourably due to the implementation of the Agrarian Reform Programme. This is on the premise that as leaseholders or owner-cultivators, these farmers can decide what is best for their lands.

Current and Future Government Programmes on Crop Diversification

On agricultural R&D, crop diversification is a component of the Philippine National Agenda for Research and Development. In crops associated with cropping systems, the following are the concerns:

Coconut
· Piloting of Coconut-based Farming Systems and Technology.
Cacao and Coffee
· Assessment of existing crop mix patterns adopted by cacao and coffee farmers.

· Cacao-based and coffee-based vegetables and legumes intercropping system in flat and hilly lands.

· Occurrence and severity of insect pests and diseases as affected by different cropping patterns.

· Nutritional requirements of cacao and coffee as influenced by different cropping systems.

· Economics of intercropping cacao and coffee with other crops in flat and hilly lands.

Rubber
· Alternative legume covers in rubber farms.
· Economics of cover cropping in smallholder rubber farms.
· Rubber cropping system model demonstration farms.
The Philippine Coconut Authority has three major on-going programmes as part of a nationwide programme entitled “Maunlad na Niyugan Tugon sa Kahirapan”. These are:
- Model Coconut Farms - the major objective is to improve farm productivity and quality of life of coconut farmers by increasing their incomes. This programme has a crop diversification component.

- Replanting and Fertilization Programme - involves planting and replanting efforts with balanced fertilization, cover crops and intercrops

- General Farm Assistance/Extension Services - concerned with the strengthening of linkages among coconut farmers, R&D and extension.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute is currently engaged in database development on rice-based farming systems which includes cropping patterns and number of adopters on a nationwide scale.

The Department of Agriculture is currently negotiating for World Bank Assistance on the project entitled “Smallholder Tree Crops Development and Diversification Project”. The project aims to alleviate poverty, accelerate private investment in agro-industries, conserve and rehabilitate the environment, and contribute towards agricultural and overall economic growth by increasing long-term output, value added and exports for which the Philippines has a comparative advantage.

In order to enhance production and productivity the government continuously provides irrigation services to the farms. In 1997, about 1.34 M hectares were covered by irrigation and drainage facilities. This was approximately 43 percent of the total potential irrigated areas.

6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The agriculture sector has been a major player in the Philippine economy. With changing national and global trends, the sector has identified a number of strategies to be competitive. A strategy that has helped alleviate poverty and increase productivity is crop diversification. The passage by the Philippine Congress of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act in 1997 is a giant leap towards reaping the previous efforts of both government and private sectors on crop diversification.

Two perspectives on diversification are presented herein. One is planting alternate crops after the main crop and the other is planting one or more crops in-between a perennial crop. The emphasis of the former is on rice while that of the latter is coconut. This is so because crop production areas in the country are mainly devoted to these two important crops. Furthermore, government resources, over the years, have been largely allocated to these crops, and such cropping strategies have been documented. There are other cropping patterns practiced in some areas, e.g., corn-legume and corn-root crops. However, these are not fully documented; hence, these are not discussed in this paper.

There are a variety of factors that affect the adoption of crop diversification. These are the biotic (soil and kind of crop), environmental (climate), socio-economic and institutional factors. For emphasis, the socio-economic and institutional factors were discussed more than the other two.

Four important government policies that directly or indirectly affect crop diversification were presented. These are, pricing policy, tax and tariff policies, policy on public expenditure, and agrarian reform.

Past, present and future programmes and projects on crop diversification are, likewise, presented. Present and future programmes largely depend on the active participation of the private sector with the government providing technical and infrastructure support.

REFERENCES

Adriano, M.S. 1989. Implications for policy of the studies on profitability of irrigated non-rice crop production: A synthesis. Proc. National workshop on Crop Diversification in Irrigated Agriculture in the Philippines. IIMI, Sri Lanka, 134-142.

Adriano, M.S. and V.E. Cabezon. 1993. Economic policies affecting crop diversification in the Philippines. Proc. National Workshop on Crop Diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 134-142.

Agulto, I. C. 1993. On-farm water management practices for upland crops. Proc. National Workshop on Crop Diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 56-64.

Bureau of Agricultural Research. 1999. The Philippine National Agenda for Research and Development. BAR, Quezon City, Phil.

Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Selected statistics on agriculture. DA-BAS, Quezon City, Phil.

Bureau of Agricultural Statistics. 2000. Report on the performance of agriculture, January-December 1999.

Cablayan, D. and A. Valera. 1993. Irrigated diversified cropping constraints in the Philippines: A preliminary study. IIMI Annual Report, 197-231.

Felizardo, B. C. 1988. Status and prospects of coconut-based farming systems in the Philippines. Coconut R&D Book Series no 59/88, PCARRD, Los Baños, Phil. 170-177.

Gonzales, L.A. 1989. The economics of diversifying into irrigated non-rice crops in the Philippines. Proc. National workshop on Crop Diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 203-208.

Gonzales-Intal, M.A. and J. B. Valera. 1989. Successful crop diversification in irrigated rice farms: Development of a cognitive decision making model. Proc. National workshop on Crop diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 194-202.

Marzan, E. G. 1989. Profitability analysis of rice and onions planted during the dry season under irrigated conditions. Proc. National Workshop on Crop Diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 71-74.

Moya, T. B. and S. M. Miranda. 1989. Socio-technical issues in diversifying rice-based irrigation systems. Proc. National Workshop on Crop Diversification in the Philippines, IIMI, Sri Lanka, 4-19.

Obcemea, W. N. et. al. 1996. Rainfed lowland rice-based cropping systems in the Philippines: A review. ACIAR Proc. No. 70, 197-231.

PCARRD. 1993. The Philippines recommends for coconut. Series No. 2-B, PCARRD, Los Baños, Phil., 234.

Pecson, A. N. 1993. The National Committee on Crop Diversification. Technotrends, 7:1, BAR, Quezon City, Phil. 7-9.

Table 1. Production Area of Commercial Crops in the Philippines, 1989-1998 (BAS)

Item

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Harvest area ('000 ha)

13147.1

13096.3

12983.7

12520.4

12549.0

12786.9

12574.8

13015.6

13024.7

11664.6

A. Cereals

7186.5

7138.3

7014.5

6529.5

6431.7

6657.3

6451.0

6686.8

6568.1

5524.2


Rice

3497.3

3318.7

3425.0

3198.1

3282.4

3651.5

3758.7

3951.1

3842.3

3170.0

Corn

3689.2

3819.6

3589.5

3331.4

3149.3

3005.8

2692.3

2735.7

2725.8

2354.2

B. Major Crops

4725.0

4698.2

4716.2

4730.6

4873.9

4876.8

4790.4

4956.1

5110.4

4822.6


Coconut

3110.0

3112.0

3093.3

3076.7

3075.2

3082.7

3064.5

3149.0

3314.4

3115.8

Sugar cane

261.7

235.3

271.5

267.0

384

401.6

302.0

395.6

375.2

330.5

Banana

295.5

300.2

311.3

321.4

325.8

326.5

322.0

326.9

338.3

337.1

Pineapple

61.0

59.7

57.7

60.6

66.8

68.4

68.6

45.0

40.4

40.2

Coffee

143.2

143.2

143.1

142.0

146.5

146.4

144.4

151.2

150.1

148.4

Mango

56.4

56.7

56.9

57.2

60.5

65.0

80.4

87.7

92.9

93.9

Tobacco

63.3

63.2

67.9

95.0

90.9

51.7

56.3

54.2

51.1

47.6

Abaca

107.7

106.7

107.4

107.0

102.2

102.2

103.1

116.8

112.5

106.3

Rubber

86.1

86.3

88.0

84.2

85.4

86.0

86.7

90.0

92.9

93.2

Cacao

18.2

18.4

17.3

16.8

16.8

16.1

16.2

15.9

15.1

15.0

Cassava

213.1

213.8

211

204.3

211.4

213.1

225.9

228.3

230.5

216.5

Sweet potato

138.3

136.7

136.5

140.8

147.1

147.4

145.9

141.0

141.7

128.0

Peanut

50.4

44.5

39.1

44.6

44.9

47.1

47.6

28.7

26.6

24.7

Mungbean

35.7

36.7

34.3

32.7

33.1

34.0

34.9

35.5

36.4

34.6

Onion

6.5

6.4

6.4

5.8

6.5

7.6

8.7

9.8

11.9

12.8

Garlic

6.1

6.4

4.5

4.2

4.3

5.8

6.3

6.3

7.9

7.7

Tomato

19.7

20.0

19.5

18.2

15.6

17.5

17.9

16.9

17.1

14.9

Eggplant

15.4

16.4

14.5

15.5

17.4

17.8

17.6

18.1

19.0

18.1

Cabbage

6.9

6.4

6.9

7.5

10.4

10.7

8.5

8.0

7.9

7.3

Citrus

29.4

29.2

29.1

29.1

29.1

29.2

32.9

31.2

28.5

30.0

C. Other Crops

1235.6

1259.8

1253.0

1260.3

1243.4

1252.8

1333.4

1372.7

1346.2

1317.8


Other fibre crops

37.0

33.4

31.5

37.7

55.1

41.9

46.4

35.8

32.6

29.2

Other root crops

108.0

109.6

107.6

109.2

108.7

109.0

124.0

126.5

123.1

119.2


Tubers

125.7

135.7

134.9

132.8

132.1

133.0

143

145.6

141.8

139.7

Spices

35.9

38.6

36.1

36.9

36.8

37.0

42.1

43.6

47.3

45.5

Fruit bearing vegetable

313.2

328.0

314.5

313.9

312.3

315.0

331.5

336.3

332.9

327.0

Leafy/Stem vegetable

166.7

171.2

172.8

174.5

171.6

171.8

179.8

181.4

177.7

172.4

Other legumes

30.2

30.5

31.1

31.3

31.0

36.0

41.8

40.5

39.4

38.5

Other fruit nuts

331.7

327.7

338.1

339.2

330.6

331.6

338.4

371

362.8

360.8

Others

87.2

85.1

86.4

84.9

65.2

77.5

86.4

92

88.6

85.5


Table 2. Production of Agricultural Crops in the Philippines, 1989-1998 (BAS)

Item

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Crops ('000 Mt)

64207.1

61566.5

64109.3

63837.4

65766.5

68525.6

62164.8

69128.5

68301.4

57931.5

A. Cereals

13981

14173.3

14328.3

13747.8

14232.1

15057.3

14669.1

15434.9

15601.4

12378


Rice

9458.8

9319.4

9673.3

9128.9

9434.2

10538.1

10540.6

11283.6

11269.0

8554.8

Corn

4522.2

4853.9

4655.0

4618.9

4797.7

4519.2

4128.5

4151.3

4332.4

3823.2

B. Major Crops

41648.1

38684.6

41091.1

41329.5

42776.4

44689.2

39242.2

44003.4

44631.2

37789.3


Coconut

11810.4

11940.4

11290.9

11404.9

11328.4

11207.0

12183.1

11368.1

12118.5

10905.3

Sugar cane

21424.8

18666.9

21824.5

21801.9

22915.1

24695.2

17774.4

23142.2

22273.1

17347.9

Banana

3190.3

2913.3

2951.1

3059.2

3144

3192.6

3489.5

3311.8

3773.8

3560.8

Pineapple

1178.8

1156.8

1117.1

1135.2

1287.4

1331.5

1442.8

1542.2

1638.0

1495.1

Coffee

155.9

134.1

133.4

127.6

134.2

132.6

134.0

119.0

130.0

121.3

Mango

370.1

337.6

307.0

330.0

440.1

541.7

595.1

896.0

987.1

931.5

Tobacco

79.9

81.7

85.2

117.9

104.8

56.9

63.7

64.9

65.3

71.1

Abaca

88.4

80.5

85.2

84.3

59.5

66.4

64.8

70.4

67.1

71.3

Rubber

171.9

185.4

180.7

172.5

174.3

178.5

181.2

192.7

221.3

227.6

Cacao

9.4

9.9

9.6

7.5

7.7

7.9

7.9

7.9

7.8

7.4

Cassava

1846.9

1854

1815.7

1784.9

1843.0

1890.5

1905.9

1910.8

1958.0

1786.7

Sweet potato

60.3

668.9

662.3

677.2

659.1

667.8

667.9

654.2

631.4

568.1

Peanut

37.6

34.8

31.4

34.06

34.0

36.6

36.2

33.5

25.8

25.0

Mungbean

25.1

26.7

25.1

23.2

23.4

24.2

26.7

26.8

27.5

27.7

Onion

65.3

61.5

60.3

56.7

61.5

73.6

88.4

83.3

85.4

87.7

Garlic

17.2

17.9

12.4

11.8

12.3

15.7

17.2

18.6

20.2

19.3

Tomato

178.7

184.0

177.2

165.4

138.5

150.6

155.8

162.6

166.4

138.3

Eggplant

111.6

112.7

104.0

110.4

111.7

123.5

130.7

157.6

195.0

180.1

Cabbage

75.9

68.3

75.8

83.2

155.1

151.3

130.0

98.1

95.9

85.5

Citrus

149.6

150.2

142.2

141.7

142.4

145.1

146.8

142.7

143.6

131.6

C. Other Crops

8578.0

8708.6

8689.9

8760.1

8757.9

8779.1

8253.5

9690.2

8068.8

7764.2


Other fibre crops

64.6

58.4

77.6

92.9

65.6

65.1

68.3

61.4

51.7

43.2

Other root crops

121.3

132.3

128.7

128.5

132.0

132.3

133.0

151.0

137.3

132.5


Tubers

214.0

201.4

198.4

206.4

212.1

213.0

215.0

216.7

188.2

181.6

Spices

26.3

27.0

26.5

26.8

27.6

28.0

30.0

32.4

28.1

27.1

Fruit bearing vegetables

2887.6

2910.2

2812.7

2895.4

2973.5

3005.3

2812.2

3134.1

2748.3

2648.9

Leafy/Stem vegetables

1097.2

1080.2

1124.6

1110.4

1086.1

1072.6

1104.4

1308.5

1143.8

1103.6

Other legumes

34.0

34.3

35.0

34.7

35.7

35.9

37.0

35.2

30.5

29.5

Other fruits

3639.3

3764.9

3784.4

3762.2

3681.0

3680.8

3307.0

4101.3

3233.2

3108.0

Others

493.7

499.9

502.0

502.8

544.4

546.1

546.6

649.6

507.7

489.8


Table 3. Yield (tonnes) Per Hectare of Commercial Crops in the Philippines, 1989-1998

Item

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

A. Cereals


Rice

2.70

2.81

2.82

2.85

2.87

2.88

2.80

2.86

2.93

2.69

Corn

1.22

1.27

1.29

1.38

1.52

1.50

1.53

1.52

1.58

1.62

B. Major Crops


Coconut

3.79

3.84

3.65

3.71

3.68

6.34

3.98

3.61

3.65

3.50

Sugar cane

81.86

79.33

80.38

81.66

59.67

61.49

58.85

58.49

59.36

52.49

Banana

10.79

9.70

9.48

9.52

9.65

9.78

10.84

10.13

11.15

10.56

Pineapple

19.32

19.38

19.36

18.73

19.27

19.46

21.03

34.27

40.54

37.19

Coffee

1.08

0.94

0.93

0.89

0.91

0.90

0.92

0.78

0.86

0.81

Mango

6.56

5.95

4.39

5.77

7.27

8.33

7.40

10.21

10.62

9.92

Tobacco

1.26

1.29

1.25

1.24

1.15

1.10

1.13

1.19

1.27

1.49

Abaca

0.82

0.75

0.79

0.78

0.58

0.65

0.63

0.60

0.59

0.67

Rubber

1.99

2.15

2.05

2.05

2.04

2.07

2.09

2.14

2.38

2.44

Cacao

0.51

0.54

0.55

0.45

0.45

0.49

0.48

0.49

0.51

0.49

Cassava

8.66

8.67

8.60

8.74

8.71

8.87

8.43

8.37

8.49

8.25

Sweet potato

4.77

4.89

4.85

4.81

4.48

4.53

4.58

4.63

4.45

4.43

Peanut

0.75

0.78

0.80

0.76

0.75

0.77

0.76

1.17

0.96

1.01

Mungbean

0.70

0.73

0.73

0.71

0.71

0.71

0.76

0.75

0.75

0.80

Onion

10.46

9.61

9.42

9.77

9.46

9.68

10.16

8.50

7.17

6.85

Garlic

2.81

2.79

2.75

2.81

2.86

2.71

2.73

2.95

2.55

2.51

Tomato

9.07

9.20

9.08

9.08

8.87

8.60

8.70

9.62

9.73

9.28

Eggplant

7.24

6.87

7.17

7.12

6.42

6.93

7.43

8.71

10.26

9.95

Cabbage

11.00

10.67

10.98

11.09

14.91

14.14

15.29

12.26

12.14

11.71

Citrus

5.08

5.14

4.88

4.87

4.89

4.97

4.46

4.57

5.03

4.38

C. Other Crops


Other fibre crops

1.74

1.75

2.46

2.46

1.19

1.74

1.47

1.71

1.58

1.48

Other root crops

1.12

1.21

1.19

1.18

1.21

1.12

1.07

1.19

1.11

1.11


Tubers

1.70

1.48

1.47

1.55

1.60

1.70

1.50

1.48

1.32

1.29

Spices

0.73

0.69

0.73

0.72

0.75

0.73

0.71

0.74

0.59

0.59

Fruit bearing vegetables

9.21

8.87

8.94

9.22

9.52

9.21

8.48

9.31

8.25

8.10

Leafy/Stem vegetables

6.58

6.31

6.51

6.36

6.33

6.58

6.14

7.21

6.43

6.40

Other legumes

1.12

1.12

1.12

1.11

1.15

1.12

0.88

0.87

0.77

0.76

Other fruits

10.97

11.48

11.19

11.09

11.13

10.97

9.77

11.05

8.91

8.61

Others

5.66

5.87

5.81

5.92

8.35

5.66

6.32

7.06

5.73

5.72


Table 4. Gross Value Added in Agriculture and Share to Gross Domestic Product, 1989-1999 (BAS)

Year

Levels (PhP)*

% Change

% Share

Year

Levels

% Change

% Share

GNP

GDP

GNP

GDP

AT CURRENT PRICES

AT CONSTANT PRICES

1989

117640


12.87

12.71

1989

86541


12.55

12.37

1990

130290

10.75

12.11

12.09

1990

85870

-0.78

11.91

11.91

1991

141880

8.9

11.24

11.37

1991

88714

3.31

12.24

12.38

1992

158258

11.54

11.42

11.71

1992

87662

-1.19

11.89

12.19

1993

192767

21.81

12.85

13.07

1993

89660

2.28

12.00

12.21

1994

209198

8.52

12.05

12.36

1994

92775

3.47

11.80

12.11

1995

244600

16.92

12.49

12.83

1995

93269

0.53

11.31

11.63

1996

268134

9.62

11.86

12.35

1996

96418

3.38

10.90

11.36

1997

263560

-1.71

10.45

10.89

1997

99973

3.69

10.75

11.20

1998

251240

-4.67

8.99

9.42

1998

87118

-12.86

9.36

9.81

1999

309915

23.35

9.88

10.37

1999

78267

-10.16

8.12

8.54

GROWTH RATE 1989-1998

10.5

GROWTH RATE 1989-1998

-0.83

*in Philippine Peso
Table 5. Selected Macroeconomic and Agriculture Sector Statistics, 1989-1998 (BAS)

Item

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

GNP (Million Pesos)

689693

720955

724754

737139

746921

786136

825164

884226

931118

931763

Growth Rate (%)

5.73

4.53

0.52

1.71

1.33

5.25

4.96

7.16

5.30

0.07

GVA IN AGRICULTURE (Million Pesos)

150128

153414

158225

159385-

163556

168419

171069

177553

183661

171548

AGRICULTURE SECTOR GROWTH RATE (%)

4.24

2.19

3.1

0.73

2.62

2.97

1.57

3.79

3.41

-6.56

Crops

2.64

-0.78

3.31

1.19

2.28

3.47

0.53

3.38

3.69

-12.86

Livestock

10.34

3.18

1.23

0.79

4.66

4.78

5.18

6.6

5.34

4.14

Poultry

10.81

10.22

3.36

10.87

6.19

2.62

5.25

11.27

6.84

-0.34

Fishery

3.56

3.9

3.96

1.17

1.37

1.14

3.79

0.48

-0.04

1.21

Agricultural Activities and Services

3.66

8.2

1.7

4.23

0.74

1.49

-10.54

5.11

1.96

-5.89

POPULATION (Million Persons)

PHILIPPINES

60.10

61.48

62.87

65.34

66.98

68.62

68.35

69.95

71.54

73.14

Urban

25.32

26.25

27.19

28.14

33.65

34.47

34.45

35.25

36.05

36.85

Rural

34.78

35.23

35.68

36.11

33.33

34.15

33.90

34.70

35.49

36.29

AGRICULTURAL LABOUR AND WAGES

EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE (Million Persons)

9.90

10.09

10.29

10.73

11.14

11.29

11.15

11.64

11.32

10.93


Table 6. Agricultural Foreign Trade Statistics, 1989-1998 (BAS)

Item

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

Value (in million US$) of agricultural exports

1707.96

1701.13

1844.67

1866.49

1918.25

2072.02

2499.06

2306.64

2337.57

2224.67

Value (in million US$) of agricultural imports

1315.33

1555.23

1259.17

1559.71

1626.20

2114.26

2648.65

3095.85

3101.80

2894.57

VOLUME OF AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS ('000 Mt)

Ten Principal Exports

Sugar

210.26

246.98

274.14

208.06

324.19

182.11

153.21

317.70

197.82

184.80

Coconut oil

763.49

773.63

839.89

882.22

859.20

848.76

1340.41

792.65

1107.65

1177.03

Banana

851.05

839.78

955.41

820.77

1153.47

1155.18

1213.41

1253.07

1153.69

1147.11

Pineapple in syrup

191.49

179.13

194.28

197.54

237.13

459.55

191.65

203.48

185.30

84.23

Copra oil-Cake or meal

477.12

643.90

612.45

539.69

488.49

574.22

756.34

474.55

571.00

543.77

Desiccated coconut

94.52

75.34

80.74

85.22

93.34

75.11

73.06

69.58

76.79

71.89

Tuna, frozen except pellets

57.06

55.07

51.23

50.29

71.97

78.37

68.30

74.35

78.20

78.92

Coffee, raw or green, not roasted

24.97

9.10

4.63

1.39

0.72

4.10

2.42

0.49

0.54

0.71

Copra

79.47

97.30

80.69

34.20

26.77

23.80

33.75

3.09

6.92

3.60

Abaca (in '000 bales)

179.64

177.29

156.32

141.11

123.23

145.15

159.83

138.04

156.30

192.30


Cereals

16.08

0.09

11.86

35.14

17.93

45.00

0.07

0.23

0.37

0.21

Rice

16.00

0.00

10.01

35.10

0.54

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.04

Corn

0.08

0.09

1.85

0.04

17.39

45.00

0.07

0.23

0.37

0.17

VOLUME OF AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS

Cereals ('000 Mt)

392.03

936.94

0.36

1.24

202.25

1.05

471.27

1264.72

1025.36

2632.95

Rice

219.77

592.73.

0.06

0.64

201.61

0.16

263.25

862.38

722.40

2170.83

Corn

172.26

344.21

0.30

0.60

0.64

0.89

208.02

402.34

302.96

462.12

VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS (million FOB US$)

Cereals and cereal preparations

337.01

470.87

226.24

301.04

352.15

394.65

533.23

843.08

771.12

980.80


Fertilizers, manufactured

103.69

104.07

131.06

144.89

124.94

169.61

194.53

194.62

213.96

161.77


Dairy products and bird eggs

216.56

252.84

210.73

252.80

260.50

316.36

409.53

388.46

406.01

300.30


Feeding stuff for animals excluding unmilled cereals

176.97

173.91

152.95

185.66

234.31

194.94

263.05

197.26

310.69

282.84


Tobacco and tobacco manufactures

65.50

65.36

81.80

102.80

96.50

177.92

118.81

71.52

141.48

107.35


Coffee, tea, cocoa, spices and manufactures

13.68

21.70

23.65

26.45

32.18

44.89

52.24

49.66

78.94

66.09


Fish, crustaceans, mollusks and preparations

36.50

47.93

62.19

61.13

48.78

52.78

58.76

68.88

70.18

57.02


Meat and meat preparations

17.76

20.51

16.81

23.42

29.50

57.32

68.97

96.71

129.86

92.10


Vegetables and fruits

51.00

50.25

37.08

54.42

65.68

99.36

96.78

122.78

137.31

108.08


Fixed vegetable oil and fats

18.39

18.43

16.25

23.99

13.05

24.27

18.17

32.31

32.80

30.70


Cereals

70103.57

166539.93

132.07

428.32

36057.66

495.37

109105.34

379743.26

265443.27

664182.73

Rice

57963.00

116889.70

36.69

248.89

35760.49

75.39

75665.27

294042.40

211324.02

585867.36

Corn

12140.57

49650.23

95.38

179.43

297.17

419.98

33440.07

85700.96

54119.25

78315.37


Table 7. Dominant Rice Cropping Patterns in Four Regions in Luzon, Philippines (adopted from Adriano, 1989)

Region

Cropping Pattern

CAR

Rice-rice, rice garlic, rice-tobacco, rice-legume

I

Rice-rice, rice-legumes, rice-fallow, rice-tomato, rice-corn

II

Rice-rice, rice-fallow

III

Rice-rice, rice-fallow


Table 8. Successful Crop Diversification Patterns in the Philippines

Cropping System

Location

Yield/ha

Profit/ha

Reference

1. Rice-onion

Talavera, Nueva Ecija

3.43

6,116.00

Agulto, 1989

2. Rice Garlic

Laoag, Ilocos Norte

1.7 - 2.4

14,006.00 - 17,249.00

Adriano, 1989

3. Rice-Peanut

Ilocos Region

1.80

25,990.00

Gonzales, 1989

4. Rice-Mungbean

Ilocos Region

0.88

6,147.00

Gonzales, 1989

5. Rice-Onion

Central Luzon

10.66

64,380.00

Gonzales, 1989

6. Coconut+Cacao

Murcia, Negros

-

30,202.50

PCARRD, 1993

7. Coconut+Passion fruit

Lucban, Quezon

-

30,000.00

PCARRD, 1993

8. Coconut+banana

Southern Mindanao

-

ROI = 163 - 631%

PCARRD, 1993

9. Coconut+Pineapple

Southern Mindanao

-

ROI = 68%

PCARRD, 1993

10. Coconut+Pineapple+Cacao+Banana

Jaro, Leyte

-

18,892.00

PCARRD, 1993


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