Agriculture

The Philippines is an agricultural country with a land area of 30 million hectares, 47% of which is agricultural land. In the Philippines, prime agricultural lands are located around the main urban and high population density areas.

Of the total area under food crops, coconut accounted for the biggest average harvest area of 4.25 million hectares. Sugarcane with 673 thousand hectares; Industrial crops with 591 thousand hectares; 148 thousand hectares for fruits; 270 thousand hectares for vegetables and rootcrops; 404 thousand hectares for pasture and 133 hectares for cutflower.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture's vision is to modernize small-holder agriculture and fisheries to a diversified rural economy that is dynamic, technologically advanced and internationally competitive. As of July, 2006, almost 35.6% of the labor force, roughly almost 12 million people, is employed in the agriculture industry which includes the hunting and forestry sectors.

The situation being such, the agriculture sector aims for food security, sustainability of the natural resource base, social equity and global competitiveness. The Philippines takes specific measures to achieve these goals through the protection and development of watersheds; proper management of agricultural land and water resources; establishments and rehabilitation of irrigation systems; providing marginalized sectors preferential access to productive assets; and providing other essential measures and support services.

The global community acknowledges the Philippines’ frontrunner position in the agriculture industry. The University of the Philippines at Los Baños College of Agriculture is recognized as the premiere institution for higher learning in agriculture in Southeast Asia.  It publishes the international journal, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, a repository of scientific works in the agricultural sciences with manuscripts originating from all over the globe. The findings in the published researches are applicable in most tropical countries.

Information and communication technology is also being used to educate the agriculture extension workers through The Pinoy Farmer's Mobile Internet Bus (MIB). This is an open academy for Philippine agriculture, where trainings in remote provinces will be conducted through the use of TV, VCD, stereo, amplifier and notebook computers. It will start its operations in January, 2007.

	Department of Agriculture www.da.gov.ph The Department of Agriculture is the principal agency of the Philippine government responsible for the promotion of agricultural development growth. It provides the policy framework, helps direct public investments, and in partnership with local government units (LGUs) provides the support services necessary to make agriculture and agri-based enterprises profitable and to help spread the benefits of development to the poor, particularly those in rural areas.
	International Rice Research Institute www.irri.org IRRI is a nonprofit agricultural research and training center established to improve the  well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes. It is dedicated to helping farmers in developing countries produce more food on limited land using less water, less labor, and fewer chemical inputs, without harming the environment.
	National Food Authority www.nfa.gov.ph The National Food Authority was created under the name National Grains Authority, with the mission of promoting the integrated growth and development of the grains industry covering rice, corn, feed grains and other grains like sorghum, mongo, and peanut.
	Department of Agrarian Reform www.dar.gov.ph The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is the principal agency responsible for implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). It improves land tenure through better access to and a more equitable distribution of land and the fruits thereof. It also enhances the welfare and promote the development of Program beneficiaries through the coordinated delivery of essential support services.
	National Irrigation Administration members.tripod.com/niacombiscon The National Irrigation Administration of the Republic of the Philippines is a government-owned and controlled corporation tasked with the development and operation of irrigation systems all over the country.

 

This site is maintained by the De La Salle University (DLSU) Web Development Team. Almost all of the pages in this web site contain links to other Philippine-related web sites. DLSU is NOT connected, in any way, to these web sites. A number of these sites were suggested by different viewers and linked by the DLSU Webteam after careful evaluation. The DLSU Webteam reserves the right to accept or reject web sites for inclusion, and/or remove linked web sites herein.