Number of Farms Increased in 2002
In 2002, Central Visayas registered 430.0 thousand farms for agricultural use, covering 522.4 thousand hectares. The region's total agricultural land area comprised 31.6 percent of the region's total land area. The number of farms in Central Visayas rose slightly by 1.2 percent from 424.8 thousand farms reported in 1991. However, the region,s farm area decreased by 5.0 percent from 549.9 thousand hectares recorded in 1991. As a result, the average farm size decreased from 1.29 hectares per farm in 1991 to 1.21 hectares per farm in 2002. The region registered an average of 1.9 parcels per farm in 2002. Details showed that the number and area of farms had decreased in Bohol and Cebu and had increased in Negros Oriental and Siquijor.
Table A. Number and Area of Farms by Province: Central Visayas, 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 Province | Number of Farms | Area of Farms | ||
| 2002 | 1991 | 2002 | 1991 | |
| Central Visayas | 430,043 | 424,825 | 522,433 | 549,895 |
| Bohol | 123,487 | 127,812 | 136,613 | 166,154 |
| Cebu | 156,078 | 179,358 | 146,056 | 161,983 |
| Negros Oriental | 137,141 | 105,554 | 228,833 | 212,303 |
| Siquijor | 13,337 | 12,101 | 10,932 | 9,455 |
Source: National Statistics Office, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture
Cebu Had the Highest Number of Farms
Among the provinces in Central Visayas, Cebu shared the highest number of farms with 156.1 thousand, covering 146.1 thousand hectares. Farms in the province accounted for 36.3 percent of the total farms in the region. However, the number and total area of agricultural farms for the province was lower by 13 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively from the 1991 levels.
Negros Oriental ranked second with 137.1 thousand farms, covering 228.8 thousand hectares while Bohol came in third with 123.5 thousand farms, covering 136.6 thousand hectares.
Corn Was the Major Temporary Crop in the Region
In terms of area planted, corn was consistently the major temporary crop in the region, which accounted for 238.1 thousand farms with a combined area of 229.0 thousand hectares. Palay followed next with 103.8 thousand farms, covering 127.4 thousand hectares.
In 2002, corn was the top temporary crop in Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor while palay in Bohol.
Coconut was the Dominant Permanent Crop
Among the permanent crops, coconut accounted for the highest number of trees planted in Central Visayas, with 10.5 million trees in 246.2 thousand farms. Banana followed next with 7.9 million trees in 282.2 thousand farms. The next most important crop in the region was mango with 1.2 million trees in 113.2 thousand farms.
In 2002 as it was in 1991, coconut was dominantly planted in all provinces of Central Visayas except in Siquijor where banana was the major permanent crop.
Communal System of Irrigation Was Common in Central Visayas
Irrigation was an indispensable means for producing agricultural crops in Central Visayas. In 2002, about 117.2 thousand farms in the region with a combined irrigated area of 142.7 thousand hectares were supplied with water. The common irrigation systems used by most farms in Central Visayas were the communal system of irrigation that covered 31.7 thousand hectares and the individual irrigation system supplying water to 64.2 thousand hectares of agricultural lands. Lands planted with temporary crops benefited most of the irrigation facilities in the region.
There were other irrigation systems used by farms such as waterwheels, water fetching, etc., which supplied water to 42.7 thousand farms with a total irrigated area of 32.3 thousand hectares.
Hog Raising Dominated the Livestock Raising Activity
The dominant livestock raised in Central Visayas was hogs. A total of 222.7 thousand farms reported to have reared 579.9 thousand hogs. This figure was 13 percent less than the 1991 total of 666.3 thousand hogs. Hog raising remained the top livestock raising activity in all provinces in Central Visayas.
Goat raising ranked second with 276.5 thousand heads tended. Cattle raising ranked third with 266.1 thousand heads, a decrease of 9.9 percent from 1991.
Source: National Statistics Office, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture
Raising of Chicken Was the Primary Poultry Raising Activity
Raising of chicken was the primary poultry raising activity in Central Visayas in terms of the number of heads. About 351.1 thousand farms reported to have raised 7.6 million chicken in the region, 8.7 percent higher from the 1991 level of 7.0 million chicken.
Raising of ducks ranked second with 7.1 thousand farms reporting to have raised 80.1 thousand ducks while quails came in third with 629 farms reporting to have tended 38.4 thousand heads. While considerable increases were observed in the number of chicken and quails in 2002, the rest of the poultry in the region experienced a decrease both in terms of head count and farms engaged.
Among the provinces in the region, Cebu contributed most to the total chicken raised by as much as 63.2 percent.
Ornamental and Flower Gardening (Excluding Orchid) Was Also Common in the Region
While most agricultural operators in Central Visayas were engaged in common agricultural activities like planting palay, corn, etc., others were also involved in other agricultural activities like bee culture/honeybee production, silkworm production, among others. For these types of agricultural activities, ornamental and flower gardening (excluding orchid) registered the highest number of farms in the region (10.2 thousand farms). This figure was 9.2 percent less than the 11.2 thousand farms reported in 1991.
Orchid growing was also predominantly practiced where it posted a 177.9 percent increase, or from 1.4 thousand farms in 1991 to 3.8 thousand farms in 2002. Sericulture/silk/cocoon production came third with 3.2 thousand farms engaged. It recorded a remarkable nine-fold increase, from 336 farms in 1991.
Male Operators Dominated the Agriculture Operation
More male operators were engaged in agriculture than their female counterparts. In 2002, male operators (360.2 thousand) accounted for 83.8 percent of the total agricultural operators in the region.
Meanwhile, most of the operators in the region (197.9 thousand) belonged to the 35 to 54 year age group. These agricultural operators comprised 46.0 percent of the total operators engaged in agriculture during the year.
Roughly 86.3 Percent of the Household Members Engaged in Agriculture Were Working in Own Agricultural Holding
Household members of the agricultural operators were asked if they were engaged in any agricultural activity, whether in their own holding, in other holding or both.
In 2002, a total of 323.1 thousand household members were engaged in agricultural activities. Of this number, about 279.0 thousand (86.3 percent) were employed in own holding, 20.0 thousand (6.2 percent) in other holdings, and 24.1 thousand (7.5 percent) both in their own holding and in the holding of others.
One in five (21.8 percent) household members aged 10 to 24 years were engaged in an agricultural activity. Among them, four in five (85.1 percent) were helpers in own holding.
Moreover, while males dominated the agricultural operations in the year, female non-operator household members who were engaged in an agricultural activity (196.1 thousand), on the other hand, outnumbered their male counterparts by 73.8 thousand.
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 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 growing of crops such as palay, corn, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc., and/or for 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 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 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 (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 may not be the same as the actual location of the farm or farm parcels. |
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
