AGRICULTURE is a late Middle English adaptation

of Latin agricultra, from ager, "field",

and cultra, "cultivation" or "growing". The art
and science of growing plants and other crops
and the raising of animals for food, other
human needs, or economic gain.

Other Definitions of Agriculture

1. Agriculture is the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the
management of man.
(Rimando, T.J.. 2004. Crop Science 1: Fundamentals of Crop Science. U.P.
Los Baos: University Publications Office. p. 1).
2. Agriculture is the growing of both plants and animals for human needs.
(Abellanosa, A.L. and H.M. Pava. 1987. Introduction to Crop Science. Central
Mindanao University, Musuan, Bukidnon: Publications Office. p. 238).
3. Agriculture is the science or practice of large-scale soil cultivation.
(The New Websters Dictionary of the English Language (international ed.).
2004. Lexicon Publications, Inc. p. 17).

4. Agriculture is the deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface

through the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock for sustenance
or economic gain.
(Rubenstein, J.M. 2003. The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human
Geography. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. p. 496).

Significance of Agriculture
Source of Livelihood
The main source livelihood of many people is agriculture.
Approximately 70 % of the people directly rely on agriculture as
a mean of living.

Supply of Food as well as Fodder

Agricultural sector provides fodder for domestic animals .

Significance to the International Trade

Agricultural products like sugar, tea, rice, spices, tobacco, coffee
etc. constitute the major items of exports of countries that rely
on agriculture.

 Marketable Surplus
The growth of agricultural sector contributes to marketable
surplus. Many people engage in manufacturing, mining as well as
other non- agricultural sector as the nation develops.

Source of Raw Material

The main source of raw materials to major industries such as
cotton and jute fabric, sugar, tobacco, edible as well as nonedible oils is agriculture.

Foreign Exchange Resources

The nations export trade depends largely on agricultural sector.

 Great Employment Opportunities

Construction of irrigation schemes, drainage system as well as
other such activities in the agricultural sector is important as it
provides larger employment opportunities.

Economic Development
Since agriculture employs many people it contributes to
economic development. As a result, the national income level as
well as peoples standard of living is improved. The fast rate of
development in agriculture sector offers progressive outlook as
well as increased motivation for development.

Source of Saving
Development in agriculture may also increase savings.

 Food Security
A stable agricultural sector ensures a nation of food
security. The main requirement of any country is food
security.

Contribution to National revenue

Agriculture is the main source of national income for most
developing countries.

Issues and Problems about

Philippine Agriculture

 Underfunding
- public expenditures for agricultural research in real terms
and as a ratio to agricultural gross value added (GVA) declined
significantly throughout the past decade.

 Institutional Weakness
Limited technological progress in Philippine agriculture has
been caused not only by under investments but also by
institutional weaknesses that adversely affect the financial
support, efficiency, and effectiveness of the research and
extension system.
-

Budget allocation for technological development is

biased against research in favor of extension
While the country has one-of the lowest public
expenditures for research as a ratio of GVA in Asia, its extension
budget and manpower resources are among the biggest among
developing countries. Such imbalance may be explained by the
widespread belief that there are a substantial number of mature
technologies on the shelf and it is the weak and underfunded
extension system that is a constraint. In-fact, there are too many
extension agents but too few appropriate technologies to
extend.
-

 Limited research funds are allocated thinly to too

many commodities; allocation favors minor crops
over commodities of major economic importance.
-The misallocation in the distribution of funds among
commodities, the lack of focus on technological issues of
greatest scientific and economic potentials as well as
bureaucratic problems in disbursements of funds lower the
effectiveness of public expenditures.

 Agricultural Land Conversion

-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.

 Environmental damage

 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.
Agriculture production damage caused by
Super Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas has
risen to P31.13 billion with the coconut
subsector sustaining the greatest damage.

Philippine Agriculture Sector

Subsectors:
Crops
Livestock and Poultry
Fisheries

The crops subsector which shared 51.71% in

total agricultural production grew by 3.25%
during the year. Production of palay went up
by 2.87% andthat of corn by 5.33%. Notable
gains were also recorded for sugarcane,
mango, tobacco, cassava and onion. At current
prices, the subsectors gross value of output
amounted to 933.7 million this was 14.52 5
morethan the 2013 level.

Livestock production increased by 1.025 it

contributed 16.10% to total agricultural
output.all components of the subsector
registered output gains in 2014. the
subsectors growth value of production
amounted to 247.1 billion at current prices.
This indicated a 5.60% improvement from last
years earning.

 The poultry subsector inched up by 0.27%. It

shared 14.54% in the total agricultural
production. The sources of growth were
chicken,duck and duck egg.at current prices,
the subsector grossed 189.7 billion which was
7.84% higher than the previous years level.

 Fisheries production declined by 0.15% in

2014 the subsector accounted for 17.65% of
total agricultural output.Gainers in the
subsector were skipjack and yellowfin tuna
with 13.84% and 8.18% output
increases,respectively.At current prices, the
subsectors gross earnings amounted to 242
billion or 1.03% lower than last years record

 On the average farmgate prices went up by

7.74% from last years quotations. Significant
price increases were recorded in the crop
sector at 10.92%. The poultry subsector
followed with an average price gain of 7.55%.
In the livestock subsector, prices were quoted
4.54% more this year.meanwhile,the fisheries
subsector posted an average price contaction
of 0.88%

Percent Contribution of Agriculture in

Philippine Economy

Economic Performance
In 2013, the country's Gross National Income (GNI) grew by 7.48
percent. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) posted a 7.18 percent
growth. Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture and fishing went
up by 0.90 percent. This sector contributed 10 percent to the
GDP.

Production Performance in Agriculture.

Gross output in agriculture grew by 1.12 percent in 2013. Production of palay

increased by 2.26 percent while that of corn decreased by 0.40 percent. Output
declines were noted for other major crops such as coconut, sugarcane, banana,
coffee, abaca and calamansi. Overall, the crops subsector failed to record output
increment during the year.
Production in the livestock subsector improved by 1.76 percent. Hog and cattle
production rose by 1.95 percent and 1.76 percent, respectively. Dairy had a 5.58
percent output gain. The poultry subsector came up with a 4.29 percent growth in
production. All poultry components posted output increments. Chicken had the
biggest expansion at 5.11 percent.
The fisheries subsector recovered from the previous year's decline with a 1.24
percent increase in production in 2013.

Prices
On the average, farmers gained 2.18 percent from the
prices they received for their produce in 2013. Prices of
cereals rose by an average of 3.17 percent. Increases in
prices were also noted in roots and tubers, as well as fruits.
Poultry and livestock products posted the biggest price
gains at 12.86 percent and 7.48 percent, respectively. Prices
of fishery products went up by 1.03 percent. On the other
hand, price cuts were registered for commercial crops at
4.62 percent and vegetables and legumes at 0.25 percent.
Meanwhile, prices paid by consumers for food and nonalcoholic beverages were up by an average of 2.79 percent
in 2013.

Employment and Wages

Of the country's total labor force in 2013 at
41.02 million persons, 93 percent were
employed. The agriculture sector employed
11.84 million persons and they comprised 31
percent of the national employment. In the
first half of 2013, the daily nominal wage rates
were P256.52 for palay farm workers and
P206.04 for corn farm workers.

Agricultural Support Services

In 2013, the government expenditures for the
agriculture sector amounted to P111.14
billion, higher by 26.03 percent from the 2012
record. Agricultural expenditures accounted
for 5.54 percent of the national expenditures.
Agricultural loans totaled P729.27 billion of
which 32 percent were production loans.

 After recording strong growth in the last 2 years,

Philippine economic growth decelerated to 5.7 % in the
first quarter of 2014 (Q1 2014). On the supply side, the
services sector continued to be the main driver of
growth, contributing 3.8 percentage points to overall
growth, while agriculture remained weak. On the
demand side, growth continued to be led by private
construction, and to some extent, durable equipment,
and infrastructure spending. Moreover, the recovery of
net exports after 5 quarters of contraction contributed
to growth. Their contribution, however, was muted by
weak government consumption and the decline in
private construction.

Exports and Imports

Exports

Region 1: Illocos
Tobacco, Mangoes and Peanuts

Region 3: Central Luzon

Raw materials

Region 4: Calabarzon
Cofee beans and banana chips

Region 5: Bicol
Abaca

Region 6: Western Visayas

Sugar Cane

Region 8: Eastern Visayas

Coconut oil and Corns

Region 9: Zamboanga Peninsula

Sardines

Region 10: Northern Mindanao

Coco-based products

Region 11: Davao

Banana crops , Copra , Duryan

Region 12: SOCCKSARGEN

Frozen Shrimps and Octupus

Region 13: CAR

Banana chips and Prawn