In the absence of comprehensive registration of population and vital statistics, demographic surveys are the primary source of data used in monitoring the progress and evaluating the impact of the population program of the country. The Philippine Population Program was officially launched in 1970. Since then, it has undergone many changes in its policy and program directions. In the beginning, the program was centered on fertility reduction and contraceptive distribution, using a clinic-based approach. In the 1970s, the family planning program shifted to a family welfare approach, adopting a combined clinic and community-based delivery approach. In the 1980s, the population policy was restated, calling for the broadening of population concerns beyond fertility reduction to cover family formation, the status of women, maternal and child health, morbidity and mortality, population distribution and urbanization, internal and international migration, and population structure (Commission on Population, 1997: 1)

BRIEF BACKGROUND

The 2002 Censuses of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF 2002) is a large-scale government operation geared towards the collection and compilation of statistics on the agriculture and fisheries sectors of the country. The collected data will constitute the bases from which policymakers and planners will formulate plans for the country’s development.

GENERAL BACKGROUND

The stability and growth of a country’s economy hinges on its ability to produce goods and services for both domestic and international use. Labor represents an important factor of production, hence, the improvement of the quality of the labor force and efforts to make it more productive and responsive to growth are necessary for the development of the economy. A clear knowledge and understanding of the size, composition and other characteristics of the segment of the population is a big step in this direction. A continuing supply of the data on labor force is indispensable to national and local development planning.