Source: NSO, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture 

Bukidnon Accounted for the Largest Area and Number of Farms

Bukidnon shared the largest number of farms in Northern Mindanao with a total of 120.0 thousand farms which utilized 322.8 thousand hectares of land for agriculture, also the biggest among the provinces. About 43.2 percent of the total farm area in the region was accounted for by this province. The average farm size of the province was 2.7 hectares.

Misamis Oriental followed with 81.3 thousand farms and a total area of 161.6 thousand hectares. One-fifth of the total farm area (21.6 percent) in the region was accounted by this province.

Corn was the Major Temporary Crop

Corn, which was grown in 175.6 thousand farms with a total of 371.8 thousand hectares, was the major temporary crop of the region in 2002. However, the area devoted to corn had decreased by 18.1 percent, that is, from 453.7 thousand hectares in 1991. The next major temporary crop was palay covering 102.3 thousand hectares in 52.5 thousand farms. Other major temporary crops planted in the region were sugarcane (50.4 thousand hectares), tubers, roots and bulbs (27.5 thousand hectares), and fruit bearing vegetables (9.6 thousand hectares).

Corn was the major temporary crop across provinces in 2002. About 46.6 percent (173.3 thousand hectares) of the total area planted with corn was managed by operators in Bukidnon and 31.4 percent (116.8 thousand hectares) in Lanao del Norte.

Pineapple was the Dominant Permanent Crop 

In terms of the number of trees/vines/hills, pineapple was the most important permanent crop in the region with 30.8 million hills as reported by 7.3 thousand farms. It must be noted that pineapple was also one of the most important crops in 1991 in terms of area planted (18.0 thousand hectares). Coconut ranked second with 19.6 million trees planted in 169.2 thousand farms. Banana ranked third with 17.1 million hills planted in 160.6 thousand farms. Other major permanent crops in the region were coffee robusta and coffee arabica with 4.2 million trees and 1.5 million trees, respectively.

Pineapple was dominantly planted in Bukidnon due to the presence of Del Monte Pineapple Plantation. For other provinces, the top permanent crop planted varies. Coconut was abundantly planted in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental while banana in Camiguin and Misamis Oriental.

National Irrigation System was Common in the Region 

The use of irrigation system facilitated the development of agriculture in Northern Mindanao.

About 68.1 thousand farms with a total irrigated area of 99.4 thousand hectares in the region were supplied with water, or 13.3 percent of the total agricultural land. The common irrigation systems used by most farms in Northern Mindanao were the national irrigation system which covered 31.8 thousand hectares of irrigated area and communal irrigation system, supplying water to 22.4 thousand hectares.

There were other irrigation system used by farms such as waterwheels, water fetching, etc., which supplied water to 22.3 thousand farms with an irrigated area of 22.5 thousand farms.

Hog Raising Topped the Livestock Raising Activity

Among the livestock reared and tended in Northern Mindanao, hogs accounted for the largest share. From a total 459.2 thousand hogs reported in 1991, 575.1 thousand hogs were reared in 151.3 thousand farms in 2002. About 45.0 percent of the total hogs came from Bukidnon and 25.4 percent from Misamis Oriental.

Cattle raising ranked second with 231.1 thousand heads tended in 103.5 thousand farms. An increase of about 26.3 thousand cattle was observed from the 1991 figure of 204.9 thousand heads. A high proportion of these livestock came from Bukidnon (35.8 percent).

Other common livestock reared and tended in Northern Mindanao were goats (155.2 thousand), carabaos (124.5 thousand), and horses (53.0 thousand).

Source: NSO, 1991 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries and 2002 Census of Agriculture

Raising of Chicken was the Primary Poultry Raising Activity

In 2002, the number of chicken raised in 228.5 thousand farms totaled to 14.5 million heads, significantly higher when compared to the 1991 figure of 3.6 million heads. More than half of the total chicken (51.4 percent) in the region were raised by the operators in Bukidnon, followed by Misamis Oriental with 27.4 percent share.

Next to raising of chicken was duck raising with 192.0 thousand heads tended as reported by 9.9 thousand farms. However, a decrease of about 38.3 percent compared to the 1991 inventory was observed. The largest share of the total ducks raised came from Bukidnon (66.6 percent).

While quail raising came in third, it experienced a remarkable four-fold increase, from 12.5 thousand heads in 1991 to 61.7 thousand heads in 2002.

Ornamental and Flower Gardening was Also Common in the Region 

While most agricultural operators in Northern Mindanao were engaged in common agricultural activities like planting palay, corn, etc., others were also involved in bee culture/honeybee production, silkworm production, among others. Ornamental and flower gardening (excluding orchid) was practiced in almost 1.9 thousand farms. However, this figure was 50.8 percent lower than the 3.8 thousand farms engaged in this activity in 1991.

Likewise, mushroom culture attracted the interest of the agricultural operators where it showed a remarkable eight-fold increase in terms of the number of farms engaged, from 122 farms in 1991 to 1.1 thousand farms in 2002.

One in Four Agricultural Operators was 35 to 44 Years Old 

About 26.4 percent of the agricultural operators in Northern Mindanao belonged to the 35 to 44 year age group. A number of operators were also in the age groups 45 to 54 years (71.8 thousand) and 25 to 34 years (65.2 thousand).

Almost nine in ten agricultural operators were males (89.5 percent). Among male agricultural operators, 27.5 percent were between 35 to 44 years old while female agricultural operators appeared older, 50 to 64 years old (35.5 percent).

More than 80 Percent of the Household Members Engaged in Agriculture were Employed in Own 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 452.5 thousand household members were engaged in agricultural activities. Of this number, 369.1 thousand (81.6 percent) were engaged in own holding, 54.9 thousand (12.1 percent) both in their own holding and in the holding of others, and 28.5 thousand (6.3 percent) in other holdings.

While male operators dominated the agricultural operations in 2002, there were more non-operator female household members working in own farm and/or in other farms. About 273.6 thousand were females while only 175.3 thousand were males..