| Region
I has been the major producer of eggplant, tomato and mongo nationwide
from 1993-1997, accounting for almost one third of the country’s
output of the said crops. Meanwhile, Pangasinan, the province with the
biggest land area, took the lead in eggplant, tomato and mongo
production by contributing 91.5 percent, 49.7 percent, and 67.2
percent, respectively, to the region’s total harvest of these crops.
The steady rise in the
region’s eggplant production is mainly due to the increase in the
area harvested/planted because of favorable climate, and the high
market demands especially in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Similarly, the existence of a tomato processing plant, the Northern
Food Corporation in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, encouraged farmers to
increase their production for tomato. However, mongo production had a
fluctuating trend due to the shifting practice of the farmers in the
region. Peanut output also experienced fluctuations though the region
was still the second largest producer nationwide, constituting 29.3
percent of the country’s total production (175,279 MT) from
1993-1997.
In 1997, Region I had
the highest volume of production for mangoes (375,391 MT), among all
other major crops produced in the region, with Pangasinan harvesting
96.1 percent. Further, the province was the top producer of mongo,
eggplant, peanut, and tomato in the region. On the other hand, Ilocos
Norte and Ilocos Sur were the only garlic-producing provinces in the
region that year, accounting for 89.4 percent and 10.6 percent,
respectively, of the region’s production. Ilocos Sur (13,864 MT)
surpassed Pangasinan (11,554 MT) in the region’s onion production.
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The
Agriculture sub-sector had the biggest contribution to Ilocos Region’s
Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). The implementation of the High
Value Commercial Crop (HVCC) Program of the Department of Agriculture,
which commenced in 1995, contributed to the high production of major
crops in the region including tomato, eggplant, and mongo. Through the
HVCC, high-breed seeds are being utilized and crop production are
programmed to meet market demands.
Source of Basic Data: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
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