Horticultural Crop Production Philippines Report

Ardy L. Cucio
Technical Staff/Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation

Allan B. Siano
Agriculturist /Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry

Features of the Philippines archipelago The Philippines lies between the Pacific Ocean and the China Sea at about 116 C 30 to 126C 30 E and extends from about 430 to 21 N latitudes. On the South are the Celebes Sea and the costal water of Borneo. Philippines is an archipelago which consist of 7,102 island and islets distributed to the span of 1854 kilometers from North to South. The Country is divided in to three major groups namely: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon is the largest among the three and located in the Northern part of the country while Visayas is located in the central position. Mindanao is the second largest and located in the South. The total land area is 300,000 square kilometer equivalent to 30 million hectares. The archipelago has a coastline of about 14,480 miles. Total Population = 80 million Roman Catholic= 80% Other Christians =15% Muslims = 5% The earliest migrants are the Negritos, Malays and Indonesians. The rest of the population descended from recent immigrants. Chinese, European, Americans, Indians and Japanese.Pilipino is the official language and English is the second. One hundred eleven dialects are being spoken throughout the country.

Climate of the Philippines Climate in the Philippines is classified base on the rainfall distribution received in the locality. There are four types of climate base on Modified Coronas System. Type I

Two pronounced seasons, dry from November to April; wet during the rest of the year. The entire province in the western part of the islands of Luzon, Mindoro, Negros, and Palawan. Type II No dry season with a very pronounced maximum rainfall from November to January. The areas covered are Catanduanes, Sorsogon, The eastern part of Albay, the Eastern and Northern part of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, a great portion of Eastern part of Quezon, the eastern part of Leyte and a large portion of Eastern Mindoro.

Agriculturist II. Bureau of Plant Industry Metro Manila Philippines Technical Staff. Philippine Coconut Research and Development Foundation. Pasig City Philippines

Type III

No very pronounced maximum rain period Only a short dry season lasting from one to three months. Covers the Western part of Cagayan (Luzon), Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, the southern portion of Mountain Province, Southern Quezon, the Bondoc Peninsula, Masbate, Romblon, Northeast Panay, Eastern Negros, Central and Southern Cebu, Part of Northern Mindanao and the most Eastern Palawan.

Type IV

Rainfall more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. There is no dry season and no very pronounced rainy. Covers Batanes Provinces, Northern Luzon, Western Camarines Norte

and Camarines Sur, Albay, Eastern Mindoro, Marinduque, Western Leyte, Nortern Negros, and most of Central, Eastern and Southern Mindanao. Of the total rainfall recorded annually, 47% is attributed to the occurrence of the tropical cyclones (especially from June to December). Tropical cyclones are generally from the North Pacific Ocean region and generally move in West Northern direction towards the country. The most affected areas are those located at the northern part of the country. Philippines are usually affected by this typhoon at the average of 21 annually. The annual humidity ranges from 74% to 85% while the annual mean temperature is between 19,5C to 28C and annual rainfall ranges from 1,893 to 3,855.2 millimeters. Total Radiation Total radiation in the Philippines follows the seasonal changes in rainfall distribution, but it also dependent on the length of day, which is directly related to the latitude. This is clearly seen in the dry season, when bright sunshine is expected throughout the day. Philippine Soil Types Soil Type Area (Has.) Clay 5,326,035 Silty Clay 10,475 Sandy Clay 246,570 Loam 2,244,102 Sandy Loam 1,171,951 Clay Loam 6,405,080 Silty Loam 861,928 Gravelly Loam 21,213 Silty Clay Loam 403,303 Sandy Clay Loam Fine Sandy loam

1,132,46 1,524,728 262,561 Gravelly Sandy Loam 3,123 Total 29,512,798 Agriculture and Vegetation Agriculture, including fishery and forestry, plays a dominant role in the Philippine economy. Since the Philippines is predominantly a rural society with 70% of its population in the country side, agriculture is and will continue to be the basic livelihood of the rural sector. At present, it provides employment to about 9.6 million Filipino who make up one half of the total labor force. Agriculture continues to account for the bulk of total employment. The Agriculture sector registers a positive growth rate compare to other industry and service.

Soil Type Sand Fine Sand Beach Sand Beach Sand Loamy Sand Coarse Sand Complex M.Soil Undiffd Rocks and Mt.Lands Others

Area (Has.) 121,624 130,694 6,442 9,846 14,444 13,498 262,305 8,789,216 551,195

The exports of Agriculture product continue to move up especially now that wide range of agricultural product like vegetables, fruits, and ornamental crops are booming in foreign trade. The traditional crops exported by the Philippines are sugar, coconut oil, banana, pineapple in syrup, copra cake or meal, mango, and other vegetable. The Philippine has a wide range of vegetation from forestry to agricultural palnts. The major key crops grown in the Philippines are cereal, (Palay and Corn) major crops (Banana, coconut, pineapple, sugarcane, coffee, mango, tobacco, abaca, rubber, cacao cassava, camote, peanut, mongo, onion, garlic, tomato, eggplant, cabbage and citrus.) and other crops suchs as fibercrops, rootcrops, tubers, spices, fruits, bearing vegetables, leafy/stem vegetable, other legumes and other fruits.the total area planted to agricultureal cropps is 12.6 million hectares with production of 65.8 million metric tons amounting to 177,7 million pesos. The Philippine vegetable industry Vegetable is a large and diverse commodity in the Philippines. Diversity of these plants can be found in the country but only 48 of which are grown commercially. This are cultivated intensively in commercial farms and garden. Philippine vegetable is classified according to morphological criteria such as plant parts use or growth habit. Plant parts use as vegetable comprise anything from whole leaves (kangkong, amaranth and green onion) fruits (cucurbits, solanaceous fruit, legume pods) flower (cauliflower and broccoli) stem (asparagus, bamboo shoots) stem tubers (yam bean, potato, sweet potato) and seeds (cucurbits, young legume seeds) storage roots (carrot) and bulb (onion, garlic and shallot). The most commonly grown vegetable in highlands is white potato, cabbage sweet pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and tomato. For lowlands, vegetable such as solanaceous, cucurbits, roots, and legumes. Production The most commonly grown vegetable in the Philippines were eggplant which covers 19,986 hectares, tomato (16,093 hectares) onion (9,584 ha.) garlic (7,837 ha.) squash (5,194 ha) and cabbage (7,665 ha,) Production area are distributed to the different vegetable producing province of Central Luzon, Ilocos, Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) Southern Tagalog, Northern Mindanao and others. Lowland vegetable represents the majority of vegetable in the market. This creates a seasonal surplus and price fall to their lowest during the harvest period.

However vegetable production in the highland are relatively consistent throughout the year. Crop yields varies in location with an average of 12.26 tons/ha for eggplant, 9.73 ton/ha. Tomato, 7.18 tons/ha onion, 2.6 ton/ha.garlic and 12.14 tons/ha, 13.95 tons/ha. for cabbage and squash. Moreover yield can be increase up to 30 % given the market, better verities and production systems. The Bureau of Plant Industry is involved in vegetable research and seed production. To date BPI had developed high yielding varieties of different kinds/types of vegetables. Production of high quality seeds is being multiplied in the different National Crop Centers of the BPI and seed farm of the Department of Agriculture. Local Demands Most of the vegetable produce on the region was marketed on wet markets and other institutional markets like fast food chain, hotels restaurants and other supermarkets in the major cities like Metro Manila, Davao and Cebu City. Other vegetable produce were sold on local markets in the region were the commodity are planted. Postharvest Post harvest facilities are now being developed and adopted due to high after harvest losses of vegetable in the country. About 5-50 % losses on eggplant and tomato, 20-30 % on cabbage and other leafy vegetable occurs during handling, transport and marketing respectively. Furthermore, post harvest losses of bulb crops like onion and garlic during storage reaches up to 12-38 % Import Philippine importation of both process and fresh vegetable products are increasing in last 3 years especially on onion and garlic. Furthermore, institutional market are relying on imports for there supply which is a problem threatening the countries vegetable industry. Bulk of the imports or 62% are process vegetable product of onion, garlic, tomato (tomato paste) and mushroom. The remaining 38 % are imported as fresh like melons, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, celery and others. Exports Countrys exports depends on only few crops (fresh or chilled) 43 % of

this are from asparagus, 28 % from shallots, 9 % on onion and the remaining 20 % are distributed to other vegetable crops.

The Philippine Fruits Industry The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world endowed with abundance of fruits floras. The proliferations of fruits plus the rich soil and good climatic conditions make the year round cultivation of the most tropical and some temperate fruits possible. Fruits do not only provide food for countrys growing population, they also generate foreign exchange and provide livelihood to the producers and traders. The countrys first exports in 1990 amounted to 1,287 thousand metric tons valued at US $ 3,976.2 million. During the same year fruits contributed 13.6 percent to the Gross Value Added (GVA) in Agriculture. Production The majority of fruits produced in the country come from backyards except Cavendish banana, pineapple and mango which are gown in big commercial farm in Mindanao and the island of Luzon by multinational companies which are mainly for export. During the 90s the total area planted for fruits was 489,945 hectares. Northern Mindanao with the highest 89,632 hectares or 18.29% of the total production area. This are followed by Southern Tagalog, southern Mindanao, and the fourth was Western Visayas with production area of 77,053, 75,950 and 55.140 hectares respectively and the rest are distributed in the other region of the country. In terms of volume of production, Southern Mindanao has the highest production outputs. It contributes 1,726,699 metric tons or 36.32% of the total fruit production during the year. This was followed by Northern Mindanao, Western Visayas and Southern Tagalog was fourth with the share of 1,056.788, 336,894 and 324.657 metric tons respectively. Competitive Advantage of Major fruits Planted in the Philippines Pineapple The Smooth Cayenne variety grown in the Philippines is sweeter and has a more attractive golden yellow color that are not readily duplicated in other Asian country. The proximity of the country to the main markets of Japan and Hong Kong is also a competitive advantage. Productivity in the farms is very

competitive but higher labor cost paid by multinationals reduce competitiveness. Banana Favorable climatic conditions, highly efficient and productive systems and labor are key factor to the competitiveness of Philippine Cavendish banana, which has very good quality another is the proximity to the main market of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong and the establish infrastructure for efficient transport from the farms is also a advantage. For banana chips, Saba is a unique local variety with a characteristic, which fits well the requirement, required for banana chips. Mango the Carabao variety grown in the Philippines has unique and pleasant taste aroma, color and texture that are not readily duplicated in any part of the word. Leading Philippine manufacturer has the equipment and personnel that make the following processed products competitive: traditional, thermal treatment puree, UHT-puree, dehydrated slice, frozen puree and frozen halves/cubes. Papaya The Solo variety, which is the import of Japan from Hawaii, grows well in Mindanao. Unlike Hawaii and the island of Luzon, Mindanao is free from the Papaya ring spots virus (PRSV). The proximity of the country to Japan which is looking for source to replace PRSV- infected Hawaii is also an advantage. Strengths of the Industry 1. Favorable climatic condition 2. Cultivars highly acceptable in word market 3. Proximity to large Asian market 4. Well established marketing linkage with countries abroad 5. Upward trend on domestic consumption 6. State of the art technologies and integrated operations 7. Availability of farm labor, skilled technician and experts 8. Strong private sector support and participation

Domestic Consumption Mango, papaya and banana are the most heavily consumed fruits in the Philippines, higher consumption are in NCR, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Ilocos and Western Visayas. Except for NCR this region are the leading mango producers. Papaya consumption is higher in Southern Tagalog and southern

Mindanao. Which is also the leading papaya producer in the country. Banana is hishest in consumption in Central and Southern Mindanao, Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Bicol and Eastern Visayas, Consumption of other fruits exhibits highest in Southern tagalog, and Central Mindanao which also large producer of other fruits like durian, guava, lanzones, rambutan and others. Exports Consistent top fruit exported by the Philippines are Banana, pineapple, (fresh and in syrup, mango, papaya, and citrus. Exports value shares of Banana being the highest with 51%, pineapple 32%, other fruits share mango 11% and 6 percent. Reduction in export volume and value were observed due to changing market shares of importing countries, entry of other exporters, emergence of new markets, and changing competitiveness. Markets of others fruit crops like durian, cashew, mangosteen, pili and jackfruit are now being explored.

The Philippine Ornamental Industry The ornamental horticulture industry in the Philippines has been increasing in recognition as enthusiast, entrepreneurs and other investors venture on this profitable business. The growth of other industries like real state development for housing, resorts and golf courses, restaurants and hotels brings more demand on the industry. Moreover, the increasing requirement of neighboring and foreign countries for ornamental horticulture products encourage further the growth of the industry. Ornamental crop products are classified into cutflowers, foliage, live plants, and dried or processed ornamentals. Commodity lines Cutflowers this consist of fresh flower which are cut from their stem and marketed and utilized in various flower arrangement for different occasion and events. Foliage Plants this commodity is consist of fresh leaves, twigs and branches cut fresh and utilized in floral arrangement and evergreen and foliage plants grown

in container for interior dcor. Live Plants This consist of flowering annuals, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, grown in containers for interior and exterior dcor and plants consisting of evergreen and flowering trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials and turf grass for landscaping purposes. Dried or Process Ornamentals consist of flowers, leaves, branches dried, dyed or other wise processed use for floral arrangement and home dcor Production Production data on the year 2000 for cutflowers like roses, orchids, chrysanthemums, anthuriums, gladioli, daisy, aster, heliconias, statice, and babys breath reached a volume of 32M dozens with a total area of 1,731.6 ha. Major production areas are Cordillera Administrative Region, Southern Mindanao, Western Visayas, Southern Tagalog and CARAGA Region. Other ornamental Plants Economically important foliage plants are cordylines, dracaenas, murrayas, microsoriums, philodendrons palms and aglaonemas. Plants used as potted and landscape materials are orchids, bromeliads, mussaendas, medinillas, aglaonemas, heliconias, palms, freycinetias and gingers. Demand Local demand varies in location in metro Manila and in Cebu City the most in demand cut flower are roses and Chrysanthemums both in flower shops and retail outlets. While in Davao City the most saleable cutflower are orchids. Demand for ground covers such as Australian peanut, duranta cuphea santan, and red creeper also increased with the flourishing industrial parks and subdivisions. Spatiphyllum, Aglaonema and Dracaena are the frequently sold foliage plants. Likewise palms are the most popular landscape materials.

Exports Total exports earning for ornamental plants were US $1.85M in year

2000. The highest export earnings comes from live plants with 35 % market share from 1991 to 2001. These was fallowed by fresh foliage 30 %, dried flowers 18%, and fresh cut flowers. The country export market for ornamental plants has always been dominated by Japan. The second major export market is the United States, while South Korea ranks third. These are followed by the Netherlands and Canada. Imports The country spend an average of US $769,890 annually for the importation of ornamental plants from period 1991-2001.Major imported ornamental plants were live plants including cutting and slips (39.8%) orchids (23.9%) fresh flower and buds (16.5%) process cutflower and buds (3.64%) and anthuriums (11.89%). Leading supplier were Thailand (26.8%) the Netherlands (21.7%) Israel (20.6%), Malaysia (9.4%) and the United States (5.1%).

The Philippine Plantation Crops Industry The plantation crops production is a growing industry in the Philippines. This is brought about by the diversity of uses obtained from these crops. Among the plantation crops cultivated in the Philippines are coconut, rubber, cacao, sugarcane, essential oils, and abaca. Coconut The coconut remains the top export product of the Philippines. It occupies 3.1M hectares with 288M bearing palms distributed in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Coconut oil is the major coconut product exported with 91.9% share, followed by desiccated coconut 5%, oleochemicals 2.4%, copra meal 0.9% and copra 0.6%. Rubber Rubber is a perennial industrial tree crop that grows suitably in Philippine soils and climatic condition, especially in Mindanao. It serves as ready cash in the rural areas and a stable dollar earner in the country. Seventy percent (70%) of rubber produced in the Philippines is used in the tire industry, while 30% is used to non-tire such as, gloves, medical wares, shoes, balls and others.

Cacao Grown primarily for its beans, that are processed into cocoa powder, cake and butter. These are used mainly in the manufacture of chocolate, soaps and cosmetics. Area of production is 15, 150 hectares with an average of 7,844 tons of beans produced. Domestic grinders require 30,000 tons of dried fermented cacao beans. Sugarcane Is a source of sugar when milled and is a wholesome natural food composed of sucrose, primarily used as a condiment. Area planted is about 300,000 hectares and produce about 22,165,320 metric ton per year. It is among the countrys principal agricultural exports. Sugar products for export include molasses and muscovado. Abaca Identified as the flagship commodity of the Eastern Visayas Region, and a viable source of export earnings of the country. Average production is 70,400 metric tons of fiber from 116,850 hectares of production area. The demand for raw abaca fiber in the international market is continuously increasing. Essential Oil The Philippines is an abode of wide array of essential oil bearing plants, due to its favorable climate and soil. Among the plants prioritized for essential oil production are citronella, ilang-ilang, Japanese mint, patchouli, and vetiver.

Medicinal Plants Program There are approximately 15,000 specie of plant in the country. A number of this species are medicinal plants and herbs with distinct medicinal value known for their healing properties. These plants are good sources of pharmacological ingredients capable of curing mans ailment. Some of the ingredients are volatile oils, resin, alkaloid, glycoside and alcohol.

Situation Trends Surveys has revealed that a large number of people in the Philippines are

aware of the potentials medicinal values of around 7000 plant species. The Department of Science and Technology have conducted have found out that 80 species have been proven to be safe and effective (UP 2001) Apparently, traditional medicine is deeply imbedded in the national psyche. The need for the promotion and use of herbal medicine has been underscore and its potential is seen to alleviate the burden in the remote areas of the country. Republic Act No.8423 known in the Philippines as Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act of 1997 established the Philippine Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITACHC). PITAHCs vision is for healthy and productive Filipino using traditional and alternative health care services, product and technologies. At present the government is directly involved in four (4) herbal processing plants. These are in Tuguegarao, Tacloban Cotabato and Davao and all four are producing medicinal plants like lagundi, sambong and tsa-ang gubat in tablet form because this is the most preferred presentation by urban consumers (UP 2001). The Philippine Department of Health endorses ten (10) herbal medicines, namely Niyug-Nyogan Quisqualis indica L Tsang Gubat Ehretia microphylla Lam. Ulasimang Bato Peperomia pellucida Acapulco Cassia alata L. Lagundi Vitex negundo L. Yerba Buena Mentha x cordifolia Opis ex Fresen Sambong Blumea balsammifera(L) DC. Ampalaya Momordica charantia Bawang Allium sativum L Bayabas Psidium guajava L.

Current Development in Horticultural Crop Production Growing System Even plastic mulching is not widely used in the Philippines; it is not new to agriculrture industry. Melon and strawberry growers in Luzon are the most observed to be using the technology including plastic cover above the plants to protect it from rain as such off-season harvest is achieved. One limitation of

such technologies is the material cost involved and the proper disposal of the use plastics. Tunnels with net covers or protected cultivation are another technologies in vegetable production, However, there are private firms individuals and cooperatives that are engaged in green house production of cut flowers and vegetables using computerized greenhouses. The greenhouses are fully enclosed with very fine nets that would prevent the entry of insects, thus the plant dont have to be spray with insecticide. The crops were watered and fertilized through drip irrigation (fertigation) this is totally computerized, including the control of temperature and humidity. Plants are grown in soils medium consist of coco peat and cinders. Other use grow bags with growing medium that is fortified with some plant nutrient. Proliferation of greenhouse in the country is a welcome development because this is one way of ensuring the supply of quality farm produce needed by the upscale market. Tissue culture researches were being conducted geared to develop rapid propagation technique. Which will provide the growers good quality planting materials for horticultural crop production Seed System/Seed Production/Securing seeds for growing Around 70% of the total seeds utilized in the Philippines are hybrids, many of this varieties are foreign and imported seeds. The Philippine government supports seed technology development as a strategy for raising productivity. However its seed production activities are confine to open pollinated varieties, which are, intended for free distribution to farmers. Partnerships exist between some companies and government Research Institutes and other State College and Universities and Department of Agriculture Research and Developments Centers. The government supply only a small portion of the countrys seed requirement and the bulk are provided by importation and breeding of private sectors. Government institutions and the Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines at Los Banos Laguna plays a major role in the genetic improvement and varietal development, but with meager resources, the priority is on exports crops especially vegetables. With the creation of National Plant Genetic Resources Network, Collection, conservation, regeneration, evakuation and maintenance of indigenous plant species with genetic resistance to pest and diseases, biodiversity and environment impact are continuously undertaken.

Major Pest and Control Strategies The Department of Agriculture is the lead implementing agency of Kasaganaan ng Sakahan at Kalikasan (KASAKALIKASAN) the National Integrated Pest Management Program. KASAKALIKASAN goal is to make IPM the standard approach to crop husbandry and pest management of major vegetable growing area in the Philippines. IPM builds on biological control as its foundation by conserving the species of biological agents naturally occurring in the area. The practice of IPM improves the environment of intensified food production and makes agriculture more sustainable. It enhances the impact of pest resistance varieties by slowing down the evolution of pest populations able to damage those varieties. The principles of IPM were as follows Grow a healthy crop thought the use of resistant varieties, better seed selection process, efficient nutrient, and water and weed management. Conserved beneficial predators and parasites Observed field regularly to determined management actions necessary to produce a profitable crops Farmers become IPM experts in their on fields

MACHINERY On going researches on design and development of potato lifter and planter and its fabrication for field-testing were being undertaken. Establishment of modified greenhouse for year-round supply of horticultural crops. And other farm machinery like thresher and harvester for rice, soybean and other seed legumes were developed and the technology were disseminated to farmers,

Future Perspective

Improve Post-harvest Facilities and Practices Cold storage, refrigerated vans, proper handling and labeling of the product will be established, adopted to maintain high quality of perishable product from the farm to the end users. Collection houses will be constructed in strategic areas to centralize the quality control, Development of post harvest technology on prolonging storage life and increasing the quality of fresh produce with high export potentials. Research and Development DA attached agencies will prioritize project and programs, which could give more impact to the needs in production technology of horticultural crops (cultural management, plant breeding, post-harvest technology) Market Assistance A market linkage between the farmers and institutional markets will be facilitated. Target market were institutional buyers. Promote the establishment of farmers co-operative groups at provincial to seek financial support at lowest interest rates Government will invest on the on (cost sharing) infrastructure in promoting the new technology of horticultural crop production Improve production technology Modern agricultural technology in greenhouse management, hydroponics, and tissue culture will be developed and adopted to improve the production of high value horticultural crops. Use of rootstock grafted with disease free planting material to increase productivity and Longevity of fruit trees. Minimized the use of pesticides to avoid detrimental effect to growers, consumers and environment as well.