Agriculture


From being the agro-industrial center of the province, the City of Koronadal has evolved into the administrative seat and a shopping capital of Region XII. Majority of the people of Koronadal, however are still dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.

1. Crops
1. a Rice
The area devoted to rice production increased from 10,693.00 hectares in 2005 to 11,264.00 hectares in 2006 or a 5.34% increase in production area. Irrigated rice production covers 8,430 hectares producing 38,440 metric tons in 2005. The 2,263-hectares production area devoted to planting rainfed rice contributed 9,052 metric tons to the total rice production of 47,492 metric tons in 2005. In 2006, the irrigated rice production area of 9,365.00 hectares produced 47,499.00 metric tons and the rainfed rice production contributed 7,535.00 metrics tons from out 0f 1,899.00 hectares to the total rice production of 55,034.00. The 2006 production posted a 15.88% increase from the previous year.

1.b Corn
Due to the decrease in its production area, the total corn production in the city decreased by 3.33% from 56,156 metric tons in 2005 to 54,286.00 metric tons in 2006. The decrease could be attributed to the utilization of some areas to planting high value commercial crops.

Hybrid corn production posted a decrease of 4.86% in production from 46,678 metric tons in 2005 and 46,313.00 metric tons in 2006; traditional corn production posted an increase of 6.625 productions from 7,478.00 metric tons to 7,793.00 metric tons.

1.c High Value Commercial Crops (HVCC)
The land capability of the city indicates its suitability for growing high value commercial crops (HVCCs). Of the 272 hectares planted with mango, 176 hectares yielded 1,038 metric tons harvest in 2006. There was an increase of 20 hectares in the area planted and production increased by 196.69% from the previous year???s production.

Other cros which posted an increase in production include papaya, jackfruit, durian, rambutan, pomelo, lanzones and guyabano. Production of banana (saba), banana (latundan), avocado, coffee, and apple guava dropped in 2006 from its 2005 record. It is also significant to note that in 2006, 268 hectares were utilized for planting oil palm. The crop is expected to be productive in three years.

Coconut planted in 23 barangay is also one of the major crops of the city. Coconut is planted in 1,530 farms by 1,520 farmers.\ Data from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) indicate that in 2006 a total of 3,591 hectares were devoted to planting coconut. Of the 318,200 coconut trees, 279,100 were bearing and 39,100 were non-bearing. The total nut production was 16,663,700 and the total copra production of 3,703.00 metric tons.

2. Aqua Culture/ Farming
The farmers in the city engage in tilapia culture in order to augment their income. The average production is 5,100 kg/ ha/ harvest. Harvest is twice a year. In 2005, the to producers of aqua fish culture were Barangays Concepcion, Mabini, Rotonda, Carpenter Hill and New Pangasinan with a production value of P2,366,400.00, P 1,791,120.00, P 1,742,160.00, P 652,400.00, and P 1,387,200.00,repectively. The production of the city increased significantly from 477.40 metric tons in 2005 to 672.59 metric tons in 2006 or a 40.76% increase in production. The top producers were Barangays Topland, Morales, Concepcion, Rotonda and Mabini with a production value of P 3,468,000.00, P 3,366,000.00, P 2,958,000.00, P 2,942,700.00 and P 2,238,900.00 respectively. The value of production increased from P 19,104,600.00 in 2005 to P 33,629,400.00 in 2006 due to the fingerlings dispersal and technical assistance provided by the city government. A significant 76.03% increase was recorded in the value of production for the 2-year period. Hito are also produced in the city. Tilapia and hito fingerlings are hatched in the city demo farm.

3. Livestock and Poultry Sector
3.a Animal Population
The table on Animal Population in 2006 shows that Barangay Topland had the highest population of cattle, carabao, goats, horses, and dogs. Barangay San Jose had the highest population of swine and sheep with 896 and 80 heads, respectively.

3.b Meat Supply
Supply of beef and carabeef in the city decreased in 2006 from its 2005 record. In 2005, the slaughtered cattle produced 277,750 kg beef and in 2006, a 244,200 kg supply was recorded or a 12% decrease in the city???s local supply. Carabeef supply also decreased by 8% compared to the previous year. Pork supply increased by 45% from 967,380 kg to 1,398,480 kg. In 2006, the city posted 9,060-kg production for chevon. No record for chevon in 2005 is available.

4. Agricultural Facilities and Other Related Services
The City Government supports the farmers by providing technical services to increase their production. Complementing the services of the City Government is the private sector. A complete list of the agricultural facilities and other services is shown in Table 45. Technical services are provided by both the City Agriculture and City Veterinary Offices.

5. Agrarian Reform Program
Agrarian reform is an intervention to promote social justice aimed to equalize access to land. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), also known as Republic Act (RA) 6657 was brought to fore with the enactment of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law on June 10, 1988. The program is generally aimed at improving the lot of the Filipino farmers and alleviating poverty in the countryside. Consistent with the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan under the Aquino and Ramos administrations, the DAR-MARO, City of Koronadal implements RA 6657.

The CARPable lands working scope of the Agrarian Reform Program in the city for the Non-ARC areas is 3,133.8524 hectares in 2005. Of these lands, 2,721.6456 hectares were already distributed to 1,742 farmer beneficiaries. Potential balance of 318.1342 hectares still remains to be distributed to 258 potential farmer beneficiaries. In 2006, the CARPable lands working scope for Non-ARC areas increased to 3,225.4685 hectares. The 2,743.8851 hectares were already distributed to 1,688 farmer beneficiaries. In the MACASANTO area, the CARPable lands working scope decreased from 2,519.6441 hectares had the largest working scope in this area in 2005 and 638.8786 hectares in 2006. Farmers in this area were able to benefit from the projects implemented like the Farm to Market Roads (FMRs) and the Communal Irrigation Systems (CIS).

6. Cooperative Development
Cooperative play an indispensable role in the economy of the city. Accordingly, the city assisted these cooperatives through various technical services to strengthen and sustain their operation. Cooperatives treasurers and Audit Inventory Committee (AIC) members were provided with training. Bookkeepers were also trained on Standard Chart of Accounts (SCA) and Closing of Book Accounts. Cooperatives were also assisted in the Registration of Book of Account at BIR, Pre-Membership Registration Seminar (PMES), in Financial Statement preparation. Likewise, a budget was already allocated for the loaning program for cooperatives.

From the establishment of the City Cooperatives Office in 2003, it has registered a total of 245 cooperatives; 55 were operating and 190 were non-operating cooperatives in 2005. In 2006, 255 cooperatives were registered where 65 were operating, 95 were non-operating and 95 were dissolved. Non-Operating Cooperatives are cooperatives which were not able to comply with the administrative requirements of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). To qualify as an operating cooperative, the Annual Report and audited Financial Statement must be submitted to CDA. Collectively, the total paid-up capital of cooperatives sums up to P 43,678,486.14.