Number of Farms Increased by More than 50 percent
The number of farms managed by agricultural operators residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) increased by 50.8 percent, from 15.1 thousand in 1991 to 22.8 thousand in 2002. Likewise, the total area of farms increased by 33.5 percent during the period mentioned. However, the average size of farms decreased from 3.5 hectares in 1991 to 3.1 hectares in 2002. The current average number of parcels per farm was estimated at 1.5 parcels.
It should be noted that the geographic location in this report was based on the agricultural operator's residence. Their farms may have been located in nearby regions or elsewhere in the country.
Table A. Number and Area of Farms by District: NCR, 1991 and 2002
(Data are tabulated by residence of farm operators; Area is in hectares; Details may not add up to total due to rounding.)
| Region and District | Number of Farms | Area of Farms | ||
| 2002 | 1991 | 2002 | 1991 | |
| NCR | 22,820 | 15,136 | 71,632 | 53,646 |
| First District | 2,169 | 1,920 | 7,273 | 8,942 |
| Second District | 8,762 | 6,004 | 26,528 | 10,902 |
| Third District | 5,835 | 4,893 | 14,552 | 3,089 |
| Fourth District | 6,054 | 2,320 | 23,280 | 30,713 |
Source: NSO, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture
Largest Farm Area was Accounted for by the Agricultural Operators of NCR, Second District
Agricultural operators residing in the Second District of NCR accounted for the largest farm area with 26.5 thousand hectares as reported by 8.8 thousand farms, also the highest number among the districts. About 37 percent of the total farm area was accounted by this district accounted by this district. Farms of the operators in NCR, Fourth District ranked second both in terms of number and area (6.1 thousand farms and 23.3 thousand hectares, respectively). Farms of operators in NCR, Third District followed next with a total area of 14.6 thousand hectares in 5.8 thousand farms.
Palay was the Major Temporary Crop
Among the major temporary crops, palay was the top temporary crop grown in 9.6 thousand farms covering 43.2 thousand hectares. The area devoted to palay had increased by three folds, that is, from 10.5 thousand hectares in 1991. The next major temporary crop was corn, covering 7.2 thousand hectares in 2.8 thousand farms. Other temporary crops planted were tubers, roots and bulbs (3.5 thousand hectares), fruit bearing vegetables (2.4 thousand hectares), and sugarcane (2.1 thousand hectares).
In 2002, palay was the top temporary crop planted by agricultural operators in all districts.
Coconut was the Dominant Permanent Crop
Coconut was the dominant permanent crop planted by agricultural operators in NCR with 3.4 million trees in 10.4 thousand farms. The number of coconut trees in 2002 increased by more than 200 percent, from a total of 1.1 million trees in 1991. Although banana decreased by about 69.1 percent, this crop still ranked second in 2002 with 764.5 thousand hills in 5.4 thousand farms. Other permanent crops planted were mango (639.2 thousand trees), pineapple (250.4 thousand hills), and abaca (216.1 thousand hills). In 1991, pineapple was also among the major crops. In fact, in terms of area, it was planted in the largest combined area of 12.1 thousand hectares.
Across districts, coconut was the major permanent crop in 2002. Other dominant crops in 1991 were cacao (2.7 million trees), coconut (1.1 million trees), black pepper (450.5 thousand vines), and rubber (259.6 thousand trees).
National System of Irrigation was Commonly Used
Irrigation was an essential means for increasing the production of agricultural crops. In 2002, about 11.9 thousand farms of the agricultural operators in NCR used irrigation. These farms have a combined irrigated area of 39.4 thousand hectares, or 55 percent of the total agricultural land. More than one-third of the farms with irrigation availed of the national system of irrigation, covering 14.7 thousand hectares. Individual irrigation system was the next common system, which supplied water to 4.1 thousand farms with an irrigated area of 13.7 thousand hectares.
Number of hogs reared and tended increased by 75 thousand
Among the livestock reared and tended by agricultural operators in NCR, hogs accounted for the largest share. From a total of 228.5 thousand hogs reported in 1991, the number went up to 303.5 thousand hogs in 2002. About 55.9 percent of these were tended by the agricultural operators of NCR, Fourth District; 33.2 percent by the agricultural operators of NCR, Third District; 9.7 percent by the agricultural operators of NCR, Second District while the remaining 1.2 percent by the agricultural operators of NCR, First District.
Cattle raising ranked second with 24.2 thousand heads tended in 1.3 thousand farms. An increase of about 45.7 percent was observed from the 1991 figure of 16.6 thousand heads. A very high proportion of these livestock (80.8 percent) were tended by the agricultural operators of NCR, Fourth District.
Other livestock reared and tended were goats (11.5 thousand), carabaos (7.4 thousand), and horses (868).
Source: NSO, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture
Raising of Chicken Dominated the Poultry Raising Activity
The number of chicken raised in 6.5 thousand farms totaled to 4.1 million heads, significantly higher when compared to the 1991 figure of 1.4 million heads. The increase in the number of chicken could be attributed to the increasing demand of this poultry product by most food chains in the country especially in NCR market.
More than half of the chicken tended (55.4 percent) were raised by the agricultural operators of NCR, Second District while more than one-third (36.0 percent) by the agricultural operators of NCR, Fourth District.
Next to raising of chicken was duck raising with 120 thousand heads as reported by 1.1 thousand farms. However, a decrease of about 45.3 percent compared to the 1991 estimate was observed. The largest share came from the agricultural operators of NCR, Second District with 42.6 percent of the total ducks.
Quail raising came in third with 72.2 thousand heads from 70 farms, significantly lower when compared to the 1991 figure of 287.1 thousand heads.
Ornamental and Flower Gardening Also a Common Agricultural Activity in NCR
Aside from the common agricultural activities like planting palay, corn, etc., ornamental and flower gardening (excluding orchids) was also practiced by the agricultural operators in this region with 318 farms engaged in this activity. However, this figure was 73.1 percent lower than the 1.2 thousand farms engaged in this activity in 1991.
Orchid growing came in second with 295 farms engaged. It recorded an almost four-fold increase from 62 farms in 1991. Agricultural operators in NCR, Fourth and Third District involved into orchid growing contributed the highest share with 97 and 95 farms, respectively.
One in Ten Agricultural Operators was Between 50 to 54 Years Old
About 14.3 percent of the agricultural operators in NCR belonged to the 50 to 54 year age group. Following closely were those in the age group 45 to 49 years (12.2 percent) and those in the 40 to 44 years (10.8 percent).
Majority of the agricultural operators were males (68.4 percent). Among the male operators, one-fourth (26.0 percent) were between 45 to 54 years old. An almost equal proportion (27.7 percent) of female agricultural operators were at the same age group (45 to 54 years old).
Only Few Household Members Participated in Agricultural Activity
Household members of the agricultural operators were asked if they were engaged in any agricultural activity during the reference period, whether in their own holding, in other holding or both.
In 2002, only 3.2 thousand (4.5 percent) household members of agricultural operators were engaged in agricultural activities out of the total 72.2 thousand members. Of this number, 2.6 thousand (81.3 percent) household members were engaged in own holding, 344 (10. 7 percent) were engaged both in their own holding and in the holding of others, and 258 (8.0 percent) in other holdings. This observation is expected since NCR is a non-agriculture region where people prefer to work in industries, both at the production and managerial level; and in various service sectors, such as retailing, trade, tourism, etc.
While male operators dominated the agricultural operations in 2002, females engaged as helpers of their own farm or workers of other farms dominated in these type of activities. Five percent of the females were engaged while only 3.8 percent of the males.
TECHNICAL NOTES Reference period - The reference period of the 2002 Census of Agriculture (CA 2002) was from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002. However, the data on livestock and poultry for CA 2002 were recorded as of the date of visit of the enumerators, i.e., anytime from March 3 to April 5, 2003, while the 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) data for livestock and poultry were recorded as of August 31, 1991. Moreover, the reference period applied for the temporary crops during CA 2002 was from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002 while as of December 31, 2002 for the permanent crops. During the 1991 CAF, the reference period used for recording data on temporary and permanent crops was the past 12 months. Farm - Any piece or pieces of land having a total area of at least 1,000 square meters used wholly or partly for the growing of crops such as palay, corn, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc., and/or tending of livestock and/or poultry, regardless of number; or any land, regardless of area used for raising of at least 20 heads of livestock and/or 100 heads of poultry. Area of farm - The physical or actual measurement of the land, reported only once regardless of how many times it was used during the reference period, i.e., January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002 Temporary Crops - Plants grown seasonally and whose growing cycle is less than one year and which must be sown or planted again for production after each harvest. In 1991, pineapple was treated as a temporary crop. Hence, the data for this crop was in terms of area planted and not the number of hills. Permanent Crops - Plants that occupy the land for a period of time and do not need to be replaced after each harvest. Following the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) classification of pineapple as permanent crop, data for this crop for CA 2002 was in terms of number of hills. Data Limitation - The data referring to farms were tabulated according to the geographic area of the operator's residence, which might not be the same as the actual location of the farm or farm parcels. |
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
