The country's nominal wage rate of agricultural workers in 2019 averaged PhP 331.10 per day. On the average, male farm workers were paid at PhP 335.00 per day, higher than the average wage rate of female farm workers at PhP 304.60 per day. Across regions, CALABARZON recorded the highest daily wage rate of PhP 399.08 and Central Visayas, the lowest at PhP 276. 43 (Figure 1, Table 1).

The male farm workers received the biggest payment in MIMAROPA Region at PhP 412.19 per day while the females were paid the highest in CALABARZON at PhP 392.43 per day. Daily wage rates were lowest for the males in Northern Mindanao at PhP 281.09 and for the females in Central Visayas at PhP 251.55 (Figure 2, Table 1).

By type of farms, workers in palay farms got the highest wage rate of PhP 351.39 per day and the corn farm laborers received the least at PhP 288.04 per day. The daily wage rates of those working in coconut and sugarcane farms posted an average payment of PhP 338.72 and PhP 309.08, respectively (Figure 3, Tables 2 to 5).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) releases the latest publication on “Trends in Agricultural Wage Rates 2017 - 2019” containing the results of the 2019 Agricultural Wage Rate Survey (AWRS). The survey covered a total of 5,579 sample households who hired farm workers, particularly for the four (4) major crops namely, palay, corn, coconut and sugarcane.