The Scenario of the Agriculture Sector in Cordillera Administrative Region

In 2002, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) reported 120.1 thousand farms for agricultural use, covering 177.8 thousand hectares, or an average farm size of 1.48 hectares per farm. The region's total agricultural land area comprised 9.6 percent of the region's total land area. As the number of farms increased by 10.9 percent over the 108.3 thousand farms reported in 1991, the average farm size also increased by 0.04 hectare per farm. Generally, the increase in the number of agricultural farms could be partly attributed to the characteristics of the region which is well-known for its agricultural products.

Women in Agriculture

Based on 2002 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF), male operators dominated agriculture sector. Of the 4.8 million agricultural operators, 89 percent are males while only 11 percent are females. Agricultural operators had a median age of 46 years. This means that half of the agricultural operators were below 46 years old. The median age among male agricultural operators was 45 years old while among female agricultural operators was 56 years old. This means that female agriculture operators were generally older than their male counterpart.

A Review of the Agriculture Sector in Cagayan Valley

In 2002, Cagayan Valley recorded 321.8 thousand farms for agricultural use, covering 540.8 thousand hectares. The region's total agricultural land area comprised 20.2 percent of the region's total land area. Although the number of farms and area increased by 12.6 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively over the 1991 estimates, the average farm size decreased from 1.86 hectares per farm to 1.68 hectares per farm. Generally, the increase in the number of agricultural farms and area could be partly attributed to the characteristics of the region as its economy relies heavily on agriculture while the decrease in average farm size could be attributed to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the government.

A Review of the Agriculture Sector in Ilocos Region

In 2002, Ilocos Region registered 276.8 thousand farms for agricultural use, covering 270.7 thousand hectares, or an average farm size of 0.98 hectare per farm. The region's total agricultural land area comprised 21.1 percent of the region's total land area. As the number of farms decreased by 11.2 percent from the 311.8 thousand farms reported in 1991, the average farm size likewise decreased by 0.06 hectare per farm. Generally, the decrease in the number of agricultural farms could be partly attributed to the increasing population in the region at an annual growth rate of 2.15 percent. Agricultural lands could have been converted to residential or commercial lands to cope up with population growth.

A Review of the Agriculture Sector in NORTHERN MINDANAO

Number of Farms Increased by 10.3 Percent in 2002

The number of farms in Northern Mindanao increased by 10.3 percent, from 289.5 thousand in 1991 to 319.2 thousand in 2002. This is attributed to the large increase in the number of farms in Misamis Oriental (25.4 percent). However, the total area of farms in the region decreased by 2.8 percent during the period mentioned. Likewise, the average size of farms decreased from 2.7 hectares per farm in 1991 to 2.3 hectares per farm in 2002. Agricultural land comprised 52.2 percent of the region's total land area.

National Statistics Office

Agriculture and Fisheries