AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHILIPPPINES

Southeastern Asian country of the Philippines faces many problems in the agricultural sector. This sector
employs around 37 percent of people in the country, being a major source of income for many
households.

Yet, this sector’s share in the country’s GDP has gone down over the years, showing a decline. The
Philippines government is also decreasing funding on agriculture. Starting in 2011, agriculture only makes
up about 4 percent of the national budget. This makes agricultural development in the Philippines
questionable.

To make matters worse, the Philippines is notoriously vulnerable to natural disasters, facing around 20
typhoons each year. For farmers, one typhoon or tropical storm could be enough to wipe out the entire
crop. Starting over with the work can be expensive and time-consuming. For example, coconut farmers
need up to 10 years for their crops to grow. The lack of financial support coupled with frequent natural
disasters leaves farmers in a compromising state.

As a result, 57 percent of agricultural households are impoverished. In comparison, non-agricultural

households are three times less impoverished. This rate is even worse in agricultural-dependant areas,
and reach up to 74 percent in Central Visayas.

Government’s Role in Agricultural Development in the Philippines

For these farmers, high poverty rates can be attributed to underemployment. Almost 70 percent of
underemployed Filipinos work in agriculture, forestry or fishery. While many farmers and agricultural
workers are searching for employment, the Government of the Philippines seems to be moving away from
reliance on local farmers, turning to imports instead.

In 2016, the Philippines was the biggest rice importer in the world, with close to 2.45 million tons of
imported rice. The lowered funding and employment of Filipino farmers put more than 12 million people
who work in the agricultural sector at risk. Evidently, more support needs to be given to farmers in order
to reduce poverty. Consequently, many poverty-fighting organizations target agricultural development in
the Philippines.

IRRI and IPAC

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), for example, has developed a rice variety that can
survive natural disasters, especially floods. With funding from the Gates Foundation, the IRRI hopes to
increase rice yields by 50 percent in the next 10 years. Based on an Indian rice variety called Swarma,
this climate-smart rice has an additional flood-resistant gene.

The rice was able to grow even after two weeks of flooding, whereas most rice varieties would not survive
more than four days. This is a huge advancement that can attribute to the lingering agricultural issues in
the Philippines.

The Philipinnes government is also working towards agricultural development by implementing

the Inclusive Partnerships for Agricultural Competitiveness (IPAC) Project. Funded partially by the World
Bank, the project works on expanding the capacity of small farmers to make a living.

Through commercial agriculture and improved infrastructure, small-holder farmers can increase their
incomes and slowly become more self-reliant. Developing irrigation systems in rural farming lands which
is an important aspect of the project, makes farming more efficient for the people of the Philippines. The
project plays an important role in reducing poverty, with 20 percent of the beneficiaries being poor
farmers.
IFAC Projects in the Philippines
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has funded 16 projects that aid farmers from
the Philippines. One project, Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and
Empowerment (ConVERGE), helps Filipinos develop their farms into larger businesses by utilizing value
chains.
IFAD provides investment and business plans to 55,000 farming households in the poorest parts of the
Philippines. Through educating and guiding farmers, especially with the use of sustainable farming
methods, IFAD hopes to increase their incomes and reduce poverty in the Philippines.

Through the combined efforts of organizations and the government, the issue of poverty among farmers
in the Philippines is being addressed. Still, more work needs to be done in the field of agriculture
development so that poverty rates in the country can begin to decrease.

The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite the plan to make it an
industrialized economy by 2000. Most citizens still live in rural areas and support
themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-
sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry (the latter 2 sectors are very small),
which together employ 39.8 percent of the labor force and contribute 20 percent of
GDP.
The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas,
pineapple, coffee, mangoes, tobacco, and abaca (a banana-like plant). Secondary
crops include peanut, cassava, camote (a type of rootcrop), garlic, onion, cabbage,
eggplant, calamansi (a variety of lemon), rubber, and cotton. The year 1998 was a bad
year for agriculture because of adverse weather conditions. Sector output shrank by 8.3
percent, but it posted growth the following year. Yet, hog farming and commercial
fishing posted declines in their gross revenues in 1999. The sector is burdened with low
productivity for most of its crops.
The Philippines exports its agricultural products around the world, including the United
States, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN countries (members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations). Major export products are coconut oil and other coconut products, fruits
and vegetables, bananas, and prawns (a type of shrimp). Other exports include the
Cavendish banana, Cayenne pineapple, tuna, seaweed, and carrageenan. The value of
coconut-product exports amounted to US$989 million in 1995 but declined to US$569
million by 2000. Imported agricultural products include unmilled wheat and meslin,
oilcake and other soybean residues, malt and malt flour, urea, flour, meals and pellets
of fish, soybeans and whey.
One of the most pressing concerns of the agricultural sector is the rampant conversion
of agricultural land into golf courses, residential subdivisions, and industrial parks or
resorts. In 1993 the nation was losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per
year. Small land-holders find it more profitable to sell their land to developers in
exchange for cash, especially since they lack capital for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides,
and wages for hiring workers to plant and harvest the crops. Another concern is farmers'
continued reliance on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides that have destroyed soil
productivity over time. In recent years however, farmers have been slowly turning to
organic fertilizer, or at least to a combination of chemical and organic inputs.
Environmental damage is another major concern. Coral-reef destruction, pollution of
coastal and marine resources, mangrove forest destruction, and siltation (the clogging
of bodies of water with silt deposits) are significant problems.
The agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the funding of critical
programs or projects, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems. According
to the World Bank, the share of irrigated crop land in the Philippines averaged only
about 19.5 percent in the mid-1990s, compared with 37.5 percent for China, 24.8
percent for Thailand, and 30.8 percent for Vietnam. In the late 1990s, the government
attempted to modernize the agriculture sector with the Medium Term Agricultural
Development Plan and the Agricultural Fisheries Modernization Act.
The fisheries sector is divided into 3 sub-sectors: commercial, municipal, and
aquaculture (cultivation of the natural produce of bodies of water). In 1995, the
Philippines contributed 2.2 million tons, or 2 percent of total world catch, ranking it
twelfth among the top 80 fish-producing countries. In the same year, the country also
earned the distinction of being the fourth biggest producer of seaweed and ninth biggest
producer of world aquaculture products.
In 1999 the fisheries sector contributed P80.4 billion at current prices, or 16 percent of
gross value added in agriculture. Total production in 1999 reached 2.7 million tons.
Aquaculture contributed the most, with 949,000 tons, followed closely by commercial
fishing with 948,000 tons, and municipal fisheries with 910,000 tons. Domestic demand
for fish is substantial, with average yearly fish consumption at 36kg per person
compared to a 12kg figure for consumption of meat and other food products.

Read more: https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-
Pacific/Philippines-AGRICULTURE.html#ixzz6Xz18hEsn

Eight Paradigms

Translating the vision into reality, Dar employs a strategy built on the eight paradigms that
make up the “New Thinking for Agriculture”. These are:

1. Modernization of agriculture
2. Industrialization of agriculture
3. Promotion of exports
4. Farm consolidation
5. Infrastructure development
6. Roadmap development
7. Higher budget and investments for agriculture
8. Legislative support
Leading a government office with a rich and fruitful 121-year history, Dar is affirmative that
these imperatives will pave the way to developing, strengthening and nurturing the country’s
agri-fishery sector and elevate it to greater heights.