Top Mindanao agri products post solid growth
DAVAO CITY, July 12 (PIA) - Mindanao continues
to make substantial contributions to the country’s agriculture output,
maintaining its strength as an agriculture-based economy despite natural
calamities that pulled down production in some sectors.
Selected industrial crops, fruit crops, and
fisheries in Mindanao fared well in their production output as reported in the
“Performance of the Philippine Agriculture” by the Department of Agriculture -
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics 2013.
The island-region accounted for almost 100
percent share in the nation’s rubber production in 2013. Out of 444,793 metric
tons (MT) produced by the country, 444,653 MT were sourced from Mindanao. This
represents a minimal growth of 0.4 percent, spurred by an increase in areas
planted and in number of mature tappable trees.
“Mindanao is the biggest rubber producer in the
country, attributed to rich soil and good climatic conditions in its
rubber-producing regions,” said Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao
Development Authority (MinDA).
Zamboanga Peninsula was the country’s top rubber
producer with a 43.9 percent share in the total output, followed by South
Cotabato Sultan Kudarat Sarangani General Santos (SOCSKSARGEN) Growth Area at
38.9 percent and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 10.5
percent. Combined production of these two regions accounted for 93.3 percent of
the nation’s rubber production in 2013.
Mindanao also contributed 88.8 percent to the
total pineapple output in the same year, contributing 2,182,171 MT to the
country’s total production of 2,458,423 MT, representing a 2.4 percent
growth. Production growth was influenced
by reduced insect infestation and bigger fruits harvested in Zamboanga
Peninsula, and expansion of corporate farms in Northern Mindanao.
The country’s top pineapple producers in 2013
were Northern Mindanao and SOCSKSARGEN whose combined output is 87.4 percent of
Mindanao’s total production.
While banana production contracted by 7.2
percent in the island-region, producing 7,013,207 MT in 2013 compared to
7,559,047 MT in 2012, it still accounted for 81.1 percent of the total banana
production in the country last year.
The decline is attributed to banana plantations
in Davao Province that have not yet fully recovered after being levelled by
Typhoon Pablo in December 2012. Despite this, Davao continues to be the
country’s top banana producer with a 37 percent share in the national
production, followed by Northern Mindanao at 20 percent and SOCSKSARGEN at 14
percent.
Mindanao’s cassava production grew by 7.2
percent, climbing from 1,690,383 MT in 2012 to 1,812,243 MT in 2013 backed by
increased demand for commercial use, prompting farmers in Bukidnon and ARMM to
expand their farms.
Mindanao’s total cassava output accounted for
76.8 percent of the nation’s overall production of 2,360,527 MT, with ARMM and
Northern Mindanao as the highest producing regions with a combined share of
69.3 percent.
Owing also to the destruction wrought by Typhoon
Pablo in Davao and crop shifting from coffee to banana in Compostela Valley and
Davao City, total production of all varieties of coffee in dried berries in
Mindanao dropped by 9.0 percent, from 65,453 MT in 2012 to 59,564 MT last year.
“Still, Mindanao posted a share of 75.8 percent of
the total coffee production in 2013, and the country’s top coffee producers are
found here,” said Antonino, referring to SOCSKSARGEN, Davao Region, and the
ARMM which respectively contributed 36.7 percent, 15.8 percent, and 13.3
percent to the national output.
Its coconut industry also made ample
contribution to overall production at 58.8 percent, accounting for 9,021,844 MT
of the total 15,344,919 MT. This is actually lower than its 2012 production
output of 9,405,317 MT, representing a 4.1 percent decline caused by low
production in areas hit by Typhoon Pablo.
The corn industry in Mindanao also had a minimal
growth of 0.2 percent last year. However, it still accounted for 50.2 percent
of the nation’s total output of 7,377,076 MT, putting in the highest production
at 3,700,023 MT among all areas.
The marginal growth was caused by reduced
harvest areas and lesser yields when corn fields in ARMM were damaged by
Typhoon Gorio in the second quarter of 2013. SOCSKSARGEN and Northern Mindanao
posted the highest output among the six regions, with Northern Mindanao having
the best yield at 3.18 MT per hectare.
In the fisheries sector, Mindanao posted 2.5
percent growth in its municipal fisheries, up from 408,637 MT to 418,902 MT in
2013, contributing 33.1 percent to the country’s municipal fishing production.
The BAS report cited interventions by the Bureau
of Fisheries & Aquatic Resources (BFAR) behind the positive performance,
such as the dispersing good quality fingerlings, the increasing stocking rate
in Davao del Sur, and the low mortality rate due to good maintenance in
Maguindanao.
Commercial fisheries grew by 1.4 percent, with
an increase of 8,185 MT compared to year-ago levels and contributing 54.3
percent to the total commercial fishing production. SOCSKSARGEN bested all
regions with its output of 218,390 MT, equivalent to a 38 percent growth.
The poultry subsector grew by 4.5 percent while
the livestock subsector had a minimal growth of 0.3 percent. Poultry’s positive
performance stemmed from high demand from institutional buyers in urban areas,
giving Caraga a growth of 18.8 percent, SOCSKSARGEN at 5.2 percent, and
Zamboanga Peninsula at 5.1 percent.
While Mindanao’s duck meat production fell by
1.8 percent, Northern Mindanao posted a positive growth of 4.8 percent
influenced by new investments on commercial Peking duck production for export
to Asian countries. In total, the livestock sector contributed 24.6 percent to
the country’s total production.
“Despite vulnerability of some regions in
Mindanao caused by climate change, as a whole it continues to show resilience
in its agriculture performance, putting in its significant share in the
country’s food security,” said Antonino. (MinDA/PIA-Caraga)
