TOPIC 3:AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

• Irrigated farm areas mainly grow

  • rice
  • sugarcane
• Rainfed areas are planted with

  • coconut
  • corn
  • cassava
• The Philippines' major agricultural products

  • rice
  • coconuts
  • corn
  • sugarcane
  • bananas
  • pineapples
  • mangoes
• Irrigation development status at the end of 2021

  65.28 percent out of the 3.128 million hectares of estimated total irrigable area nationwide
• Irrigation development


  • Effective investment strategy for countries with limited land areas, like the Philippines, to expand the agricultural land area and increase productivity, while reducing the impacts of climate change and variability
• Dams and reservoirs are mainly used for

  • water storage
  • water supply
  • irrigation
  • regulation of flood
  • hydropower
• Water supply for metropolitan area of Manila

  Angat Dam, Ipo Dam, and La Mesa Dam (also known as Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system)
• Dams and reservoirs in the Philippines

  • 438 major dams
  • 423 smaller dams
• Major dams in the Philippines

  • SAN ROQUE DAM
  • MAGAT DAM
  • LA MESA DAM
  • PANTABANGAN DAM
• Potential impacts of irrigation development

  • increased erosion
  • pollution of surface water and groundwater from agricultural biocides
  • deterioration of water quality
  • increased nutrient levels in the irrigation and drainage water resulting in algal blooms
• Irrigation can also impact precipitation in some areas, depending on the locale, season, and prevailing winds
• Potential issues with irrigation

  • Waste of natural resources (including water, chemicals, and the energy required for pumping) if systems are not properly designed to apply water uniformly
  • Pollution of water supplies if poor system design results in nonuniform water and chemical applications and leaching of chemicals to the water supplies
• Drip irrigation


  The most water-efficient way to irrigate many different plantings, ideal for clay soils as the water is applied slowly allowing the soil to absorb the water and avoid runoff, uses a fraction of the water that overhead spray devices use
• Irrigation water runoff can carry sediment, nutrients, and agrochemicals into rivers and lakes, causing water pollution and ecological imbalances
• Factors constraining irrigation development

  • Lack of adequate and reliable hydrologic data for proper irrigation system planning and design
  • Lack of site-specific design criteria
  • Lack of sustained programs
• Core projects launched by the Department of Agriculture in 2023


  • Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up
  • Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP)
  • Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency (FishCoRe) Project
• Top 10 agricultural commodities in the Philippines

  • rice
  • corn
  • coconut
  • sugarcane
  • banana
  • cassava
  • pineapple
  • vegetables
  • hog
  • cattle
  • carabao
  • goat
  • dairy products
  • chicken
  • duck
• Agriculture in the Philippines is a major sector of the economy, ranking third among the sectors in 2022 behind only Services and Industry
• Agricultural outputs in the Philippines

  • staples like rice and corn
  • export crops such as coffee, cavendish banana, pineapple and pineapple products, coconut, sugar, and mango
• Top 5 agricultural products in the US in 2022

  • corn
  • cattle/calves
  • soybeans
  • dairy products/milk
  • broilers
  • hogs
  • miscellaneous crops
  • chicken eggs
  • wheat
  • hay
• Types of agriculture in the Philippines

  • upland crop-based farming systems
  • lowland rice-based farming systems
  • coconut-based farming systems
  • sugarcane-based farming systems
• More than half of the Philippines' 100 million people live in rural areas, and more than a third of them are poor
• Agriculture is the primary source of income for poor rural people, and the only source for many of the poorest households
• Agricultural Development


  Agriculture is a driver of communities, many farmers are dependent on the sales made from agriculture so it is imperative that the conditions are adequate, in many rural regions, the seed supply and soil conditions are not fertile enough to promote proper farming conditions
• Agriculture dominates Philippine economy, it furnishes employment to about 3 million persons or about 60 per cent of the gainfully employed workers, agricultural operations provide 40 to 45 per cent of the total national income and about 75 to 80 per cent of the country's exports
• Top agricultural sub-sectors in the Philippines

  • crop production, particularly of sugarcane, palay or rice, coconut, and bananas
• Leading crops produced in the Philippines in 2022, by volume of production (in million metric tons)


  • Sugarcane: 23.46
  • Palay: 19.76
  • Coconut: 14.93
  • Banana: 9.01
• Key agricultural items imported by the Philippines

  • rice, wheat, corn, meat, and various fruits and vegetables
• Leading crops in the Philippines by harvest area

  • rice
  • coconut
  • maize
  • sugarcane
  • banana
  • cassava
  • coffee
  • mango
  • sweet potato
  • Manila hemp
• Industrial crops in the Philippines

  • Abaca
  • Cacao
  • Coconut
  • Coffee (green coffee beans)
  • Rubber (cuplump)
  • Sugarcane
  • Tobacco
• The Philippine Industrial Crops Research Institute (PICRI) envisions to be the center of research, development and extension of high value industrial crops such as rubber, coffee, cacao, oil palm, fiber crops and spices to significantly contribute to the growth and sustainability of the country's economy
• Subsectors of the Philippine Agribusiness sector

  • crop production
  • animal production (includes livestock and poultry)
  • Forestry and Logging
  • Fishery (including aquaculture)
  • Agri-support services and manufacturing
• Philippine agricultural exports commodity groups

  • Food and Live Animals chiefly for Food
  • Tobacco and Tobacco Manufactures
  • Crude Materials
  • Animal and Vegetable Oils
  • Manufactured Fertilizers
  • Agricultural Machinery
• Agriculture, which is made up of four sub-sectors (crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries), is the main source of livelihood for 25-30 percent of the labour force
• Top five most commonly consumed foods by Filipinos

  • rice
  • salt
  • cooking oil
  • coffee
  • bread
• People living in urban areas had higher intakes of total food, fats and oils, meat and products, poultry, milk and products, eggs, fruits and miscellaneous items than rural residents
• Interventions to advance modernization of Philippine agriculture

  • farm consolidation (including cooperative farming schemes)
  • better extension services
  • e-commerce
  • investments in agribusiness start-ups
• Improved information on weather and climate condition could make the agriculture sector in the Philippines more productive and disaster-resilient
• Agriculture provides employment to millions of people worldwide, especially in rural areas, and supports various industries, including food processing, transportation, and retail, which further boosts economic growth
• In the early stages of development, agriculture provided labour and capital (often in the form of export earnings) to the industrial sector and in turn provided a market for industrial products