Number of Farms Increased in 2002
In 2002, MIMAROPA registered 221.0 thousand farms for agricultural use, covering 542.2 thousand hectares. The region's total agricultural land area comprised 19.7 percent of the region's total land area. Although the number of farms increased by 5.6 percent over the 209.2 thousand farms reported in 1991, the farm area decreased by 4.8 percent during this period. The increase in the region's number of farms and the decrease in its farm area contributed to the slight decrease of the region's average farm size of 2.4 hectares per farm, from 2.7 hectares in 1991.
The region posted an average of 1.8 parcels per farm in 2002.
Table A. Number and Area of Farms by Province: MIMAROPA, 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 | |
| MIMAROPA | 220,967 | 209,248 | 542,218 | 569,814 |
| Marinduque | 19,505 | 21,245 | 38,079 | 43,048 |
| Occidental Mindoro | 37,765 | 38,811 | 73,275 | 78,988 |
| Oriental Mindoro | 64,039 | 59,261 | 150,300 | 147,698 |
| Palawan | 69,841 | 59,185 | 225,904 | 244,804 |
| Romblon | 29,817 | 30,746 | 54,659 | 55,276 |
Source: NSO, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture
Palawan Had the Highest Number of Farms
Among the provinces in MIMAROPA, Palawan shared the highest number of farms with 69.8 thousand, covering 225.9 thousand hectares of agricultural land. This characteristic was expected since Palawan also has the biggest land area in the region. The total farms of the province accounted for 31.6 percent of the total farms in the region. Areas under agricultural land comprised 15.2 percent of the total land area of the province. Moreover, the number of agricultural farms in the province was higher by 18.0 percent over the 1991 level, although the total area was lower by 7.7 percent.
Oriental Mindoro ranked second with 64.0 thousand farms, covering 150.3 thousand hectares while Occidental Mindoro came in third with 37.8 thousand farms, covering 73.3 thousand hectares.
Palay was the Major Temporary Crop of the Region
Among the temporary crops, palay was the major temporary crop in the region in terms of area planted. This crop accounted for 119.1 thousand farms with a combined area of 260.6 thousand hectares. Corn followed next with 19.1 thousand farms reporting, covering 13.9 thousand hectares. As it was in 1991, tubers, roots and bulbs ranked third in 2002 with 51.2 thousand farms covering 10.9 thousand hectares.
For all provinces in MIMAROPA, palay was the top temporary crop in 2002 and 1991.
More Than Half of the Farms in the Region Were Planted with Coconut
Meanwhile, about 60.7 percent of the farms in the region were planted with coconut, accounting for 134.1 thousand farms planted with 15.7 million trees. The total coconut trees in 2002 was 7.2 percent more than the 14.6 million trees counted in 1991. Banana followed next with 127.7 thousand farms planted with 13.8 million hills. Although it posted a decrease of 15.2 percent from the 1991 figure, cashew ranked third with 33.3 thousand farms planted with 3.0 million trees. Other major permanent crops, in terms of the number of trees/vines/hills, were kalamansi (2.9 million trees) and mango (1.2 million trees).
Individual System of Irrigation Was Common in MIMAROPA
Irrigation was an indispensable means for producing agricultural crops in MIMAROPA. In 2002, about 121.4 thousand farms with an irrigated area of 254.1 thousand hectares were supplied with water, or 46.9 percent of the total agricultural land. The most common system of irrigation was the individual system, which supplied water to 40.5 thousand farms with an irrigated area of 92.8 thousand hectares. National irrigation system followed next, which covered 40.7 thousand hectares while communal irrigation system ranked third, supplying water to 36.4 thousand hectares. There were other irrigation system used by farms such as waterwheels, water fetching, etc., which supplied water to 50.6 thousand farms with a total irrigated area of 84.1 thousand hectares.
Hog Raising Dominated the Livestock Activity
The dominant livestock raised in MIMAROPA was hogs. A total of 109.3 thousand farms reported to have reared 432.9 thousand hogs, 76.7 percent more than the 1991 total of 245.0 thousand hogs.
Carabao raising ranked second with 163.2 thousand heads tended while cattle raising came in third with 101.4 thousand heads as of March 2003.
Hog raising was also the top livestock raising activity in all provinces of MIMAROPA, with Oriental Mindoro leading the highest number of hogs tended (42.5 percent of the total for the region). However, the next top livestock raising activity varied from one province to another. Carabao raising ranked second in Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro and Palawan; goat raising in Occidental Mindoro; and cattle raising in Romblon.
Source: NSO, 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 MIMAROPA in terms of the number of heads. About 163.4 thousand farms reported to have raised 3.1 million chicken, 46.3 percent higher from the 1991 level of 2.1 million chicken. However, this percent increase in the number of chicken raised was not the highest in the region, as raising of ducks experienced more than a two-fold increase, from 223.8 thousand in 1991 to 700.2 thousand in 2003.
While chicken and ducks experienced considerable increases in 2002, the rest of the poultry in the region on the other hand, experienced a decrease in number.
Among the provinces in the region, Palawan contributed the most (42.5 percent) to the total chicken raised in the region, followed by Oriental Mindoro (27.2 percent) and Romblon (12.3 percent).
Ornamental and Flower Gardening (Excluding Orchid) Also Common in the Region
While most agricultural operators in MIMAROPA 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 agricultural activities, ornamental and flower gardening (excluding orchid) registered the highest number in the region with 1.8 thousand farms. However, this figure was 18.9 percent lower than the 2.2 thousand farms reported in 1991.
Unlike ornamental and flower gardening (excluding orchid), the rest of the other agricultural activities in the region posted their respective increases over the 1991 figures, where bee culture/honey production garnered the highest increase of 248.5 percent.
Male Operators Dominated the Agriculture Industry
More male operators were engaged in agriculture than their female counterparts. In 2002, male operators (195.5 thousand) accounted for 88.5 percent of the total agricultural operators in the region.
Meanwhile, majority (59.5 percent) of the operators in the region, totaling 131.5 thousand, belonged to the 30 to 54 year age group.
Majority 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 during the reference period, whether in their own holding, in other holding or both.
In 2002, a total of 237.5 thousand household members were engaged in agricultural activities. Of this number, 194.2 thousand (81.8 %) were employed in own holding, 24.3 thousand (10.2 %) in other holdings, and 19.0 thousand (8.0 %) both in their own holding and in the holding of others.
Across age groups, about 109.1 thousand or 31.6 percent of the household members in the 10 to 24 year age group were engaged in an agricultural activity.
While male operators dominated the agricultural operations in the year, female non-operator household members who were engaged in an agricultural activity (146.6 thousand), on the other hand, outnumbered their male counterparts by 58.6 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, data on livestock and poultry for CA 2002 were recorded as of the time of visit of the enumerators, i.e., anytime from March 3 to April 5, 2003, while the 1991 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 may not be the same as the actual location of the farm or farm parcels. |
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
