The Philippines is situated in Southeast Asia with Taiwan on its northwest coast and Borneo on the south. It is an archipelago composed of 7 641 islands, divided into three major island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Agriculture, which is made up of four sub-sectors (crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries), is the main source of livelihood for 25-30 percent of the labour force. It contributes about 10 percent to the gross national product.

Farming and fishing households, however, face high levels of food insecurity as a result of natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes and floods. Decades of conflict has further exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, the country’s poorest region. These events have resulted in the displacement of agriculture-dependent families, which further imposes limitations to their sources of income and food.

While the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, it is also one of the most advanced countries in implementing the shift from a reactive emergency response to a proactive risk reduction approach. The Department of Agriculture continues to work closely with FAO’s technical experts on a National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy for agriculture and fisheries.

KEY FACTS

Population and Labour Force

Size [Millions]

Annual growth rate [%]

1999

2004

2009

2014

1999-2004

2004-2009

2009-2014

Total population

76.02

84.23

91.89

100.10

2.07

1.76

1.73

Total labour force

31.20

35.21

38.98

43.67

2.45

2.06

2.3

Labour force in agriculture

12.53

13.11

13.36

13.72

0.91

0.38

0.53

Source: FAOSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on January 24, 2014. faostat.fao.org/site/550/default.aspx

Land Use

Area [Millions of ha]

Annual growth rate [%]

1997

2002

2007

2012

1997-2002

2002-2007

2007-2012

Total area

29.82

29.82

29.82

29.82

0

0

0

Arable land

5.18

4.93

5.28

5.54

-0.98

1.38

0.97

Permanent crops

4.70

4.70

5.00

5.35

0

1.25

1.36

Forest cover

6.95

7.23

7.50

7.77

0.79

0.74

0.71

Source: FAOSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on August 12, 2014. faostat.fao.org/site/377/default.aspx

Value of Agriculture Production and Food Production

Value [Millions of 2004-2006 Int$]

Annual growth rate [%]

1997

2002

2007

2012

1997-2002

2002-2007

2007-2012

Total agricultural production

15 040

16 881

20 243

22 013

2.34

3.7

1.69

Food production

14 667

16 532

19 876

21 599

2.42

3.75

1.68

Source: FAOSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on February 4, 2015. faostat.fao.org/site/612/default.aspx

Top Ten Commodities

Production Quantity - 2012

Commodity

Quantity [t]

1

Sugar cane

32 000 000

2

Rice, paddy

18 032 422

3

Coconuts

15 862 386

4

Bananas

9 225 998

5

Maize

7 406 830

6

Vegetables, fresh nes

5 000 000

7

Fruit, tropical fresh nes

3 300 000

8

Pineapples

2 397 628

9

Cassava

2 223 144

10

Meat indigenous, pig

1 678 195

Source: FAOSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on February 4, 2015. faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx

Top Ten Commodities

Production Value - 2012

Commodity

Value [1000 Int$]

1

Rice, paddy

4 796 414

2

Meat indigenous, pig

2 579 790

3

Bananas

2 338 494

4

Coconuts

1 731 150

5

Meat indigenous, chicken

1 349 304

6

Fruit, tropical fresh nes

1 348 618

7

Vegetables, fresh nes

942 205

8

Sugar cane

927 130

9

Pineapples

683 434

10

Maize

613 669

Source: FAOSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on February 4, 2015. faostat.fao.org/site/612/default.aspx

Trade Value of Fishery Products

Value [Millions of USD]

1995

2000

2005

2010

Imports

135

109

95

134

Exports

502

407

348

639

Source: FishSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on August 24, 2012. www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstat/en

Capture and Aquaculture Production Quantity

Production [1000 t]

1995

2000

2005

2010

Capture fishery 

1 861

1 896

2 270

2 612

Aquaculture

362

394

557

745

Source: FishSTAT, FAO of the UN, Accessed on August 24, 2012. www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/software/fishstat/en