ECONOMIC SECTOR Economy Agriculture remains as the Nueva Ecija’s primary industry and the backbone of its economy. Its agricultural productivity has earned the province the niche of being the “Food Bowl” of Central Luzon. Agricultural production is sustained by approximately 264, 736 hectares of fertile and arable lands that are nourished by the Great Pampanga Rivers and its many auxiliaries. Nueva Ecija’s primary agricultural product is rice. Over the years it has managed to maintain its position as one of, if not the largest rice producer(s) in the country. Aside from the primary staple, the province is also a major onion producer in the region, with production areas concentrated mainly in the municipalities of Bongabon, Rizal, Laur, Gabaldon and San Jose City. Its other major agricultural products are corn, garlic, melon, and mango. Livestock, poultry and fish productions are other dominant economic activities in the province. In addition to these, dairy is a fast-flourishing industry that is being primed by the collaborative efforts of the provincial government and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) in providing farmers and cooperatives with necessary support in upgrading and increasing the genetic potentials of native carabaos for milk, meat and draft, and in continuous market exploration and development. Nueva Ecija offers boundless opportunities in agro-industry and agri-based
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ECONOMIC SECTOR
Economy
Agriculture remains as the Nueva Ecija’s primary industry and the backbone of its economy. Its agricultural productivity has earned the province the niche of being the “Food Bowl” of Central Luzon. Agricultural production is sustained by approximately 264, 736 hectares of fertile and arable lands that are nourished by the Great Pampanga Rivers and its many auxiliaries.
Nueva Ecija’s primary agricultural product is rice. Over the years it has managed to maintain its position as one of, if not the largest rice producer(s) in the country. Aside from the primary staple, the province is also a major onion producer in the region, with production areas concentrated mainly in the municipalities of Bongabon, Rizal, Laur, Gabaldon and San Jose City. Its other major agricultural products are corn, garlic, melon, and mango.
Livestock, poultry and fish productions are other dominant economic activities in the province. In addition to these, dairy is a fast-flourishing industry that is being primed by the collaborative efforts of the provincial government and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) in providing farmers and cooperatives with necessary support in upgrading and increasing the genetic potentials of native carabaos for milk, meat and draft, and in continuous market exploration and development.
Nueva Ecija offers boundless opportunities in agro-industry and agri-based trading activities to local and foreign investors. The province's vast, arable and irrigated agricultural lands and support facilities optimize these opportunities. Various agricultural research and development institutions are collaborating with the Provincial Government in pursuing agricultural advancement as well as in achieving food security not only for the province, but for the whole country as well.
Agriculture
Nueva Ecija’s primary industry is agriculture and its agricultural productivity has gained the province being dubbed as the Food Bowl of Central Luzon.
The suitability of the province’s land to agricultural production is evident in its land use. of the province’s total land area of 550,718 hectares, the biggest portion or 48% is occupied by agricultural land with an area of 264,737 hectares. The province’s freshwater swamps and fishponds, on the other hand, have an aggregate area of 4,286 hectares or a 1% of the total land.
Land Use Area (has) Percentage (%)
Agricultural areas 264,737 48%
Forest Land 135,417 25%
Grazing and Pasture 60,000 11%
Freshwater swamps and Fishpond area 4,286 1%
Residential and commercial 30,514 5%
Others (Institutional/open space) 55,764 10%
Total Land Area 550,718 100.00%
Paddy areas dominate the agricultural land use with a total irrigated and non-irrigated land of
Table 9Present Land Use in Nueva Ecija
Figure 1: Land Use
144,145 and 44,679 hectares, respectively. The remaining areas are devoted to vegetable crops (17,621 hectares), fruit orchards (11,000 hectares), grain crops and root crops (10,946 hectares) and other plantation crops (36,346 hectares).
Table 10
Figure 2: Agrucultural Land Use
(Area of 264,737 Has.)
LAND AREA AND NUMBER OF BARANGAYS BY MUNICIPALITY/CITY
Table 10LAND AREA AND NUMBER OF BARANGAYS BY MUNICIPALITY/CITY
CITY/MUNICIPALITY LAND AREA NO. OF BARANGAYS
24. STO.DOMINGO 7,580 24
25. TALAVERA 14,455 53
26. TALUGTUG 9,385 28
27. ZARAGOZA 18,375 19
28. CABANATUAN CITY 19,228 89
29. GAPAN CITY 15,590 23
30. MUÑOZ SCIENCE CITY 14,769 37
31. PALAYAN CITY 17,229 18
32. SAN JOSE CITY 19,790 38
TOTAL 550,718 849
Crops
Rice and Corn
The primary agricultural product in the province is rice, which is practically grown in all towns. The municipality of Guimba accounts for the biggest share of production area for rice and consequently, holds the most number of farmers engaged in rice farming, followed by the cities of San Jose, Cabanatuan, Muñoz and the Municipality of Talavera, respectively.
Seventy four percent (74%) of the rice production areas in the province are irrigated, as served mostly by the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS) and other lesser communal irrigation systems. Though paddy areas in the towns of Sto. Domingo, Zaragoza, General Natividad, Bongabon, Zaragoza, Cabiao, San Isidro, Cabiao, Jaen and San Leonardo are fully irrigated still, certain municipalities are predominantly reliant on rainfall, particularly the towns of Cuyapo, Nampicuan, Talugtug, Lupao, Gen. Tinio, Peñaranda and the city of Palayan.
Table 11GININTUANG MASAGANANG ANI RICE PROGRAM
RICE PRODUCTION AREACY 2008-2010
MUNICIPALITY/CITY
PHYSICAL AREA
IRRIGATED RAINFED TOTAL
Area (Has.) No. Of Farmers Area (Has.) No. Of
Farmers Area (Has.) No. Of Farmers
1st DISTRICT 49,645.67 31,340 15,011.40 9,053 64,657.07 40,393
4th DISTRICT 37,871.80 17,153 4,982.80 2,689 42,854.60 19,842
CABIAO 6,206.00 2,658 129.00 80 6,335.00 2,738
GEN. TINIO 835.00 572 1,526.70 1,210 2,361.70 1,782 JAEN 6,154.00 2,484 6,154.00 2,484 PEÑARANDA 1,396.80 624 1,982.50 866 3,379.30 1,490 SAN ANTONIO 8,884.00 3,152 8,884.00 3,152 SAN ISIDRO 4,282.00 2,211 4,282.00 2,211 SAN LEONARDO 3,012.00 1,549 3,012.00 1,549 GAPAN CITY 7,102.00 3,903 1,344.60 533 8,446.60 4,436
TOTAL 152,537.26 87,546 39,954.36 24,492 192,491.62 112,038Source: OPA
Figure 3: Irrigated & Rainfed Areas by City/Municipality
In the year 2009, Nueva Ecija has topped rice production in the country, regaining the spot from the province of Isabela, contributing a total produce of 1,550,545.19 metric tons of rice per production data as follows:
Though the total area planted decreased in 2007, the yield per hectare has significantly increased from 4.8mt/ha to 5.1mt/ha thus contributing to a higher total production to 1,571,023.70 mt.. This was significantly due to the use of high yielding varieties like hybrid rice and certified seeds. Introduction of this technology started with Demonstration Trials and information campaign conducted by the extension workers of the provincial and municipal/city Agriculture Offices. The concerted efforts of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to improve their service facilities and the support of the Department of Agriculture through the GMA Rice Program contributed to the increase in the farming performance of Novo Ecijanos. The improved farming system in the province through farm mechanization and post-harvest practices also added to the development of rice industry as supported by the continuous efforts to increase the number and availability of the following equipment and support facilities:
Note: MPDP - Multi Purpose Drying Pavement; STW - Shallow Tube Well; SWIP - Small Water Impounding Projects;
DD - Diversion Dam; CIS - Communal Irrigation System
Nueva Ecija is a major contributor to rice sufficiency in the country. Only thirty percent (30%) of the province’s total rice produce is consumed locally and around seventy percent (70%) of the total
production per year is actually exported to Metro Manila and other regions, making the nation significantly dependent on the supply of rice coming from the province.
Source: BAS
Another cereal which is important in the province is corn. Currently corn production in the province is not enough to meet the demands of animal raisers and depends heavily on imports of yellow corn from other provinces, to fill up the supply gap. Area planted to corn for 2009 was 3,030 hectares with a total production of 10,535.43 MT, 6.00 MT average productions per hectare.
Grand Total 2,146.05 1,118.15 7,941.33 604.45 280.40 1,203.60 279.50 417.92 1,390.50 3,030.00 1,816.47 10,535.43 Source: BAS
Vegetables
Nueva Ecija is one of the major producers of lowland vegetables in the region. The province supplies eggplant, tomato, ampalaya and pechay to the consumers of Metro Manila and other urban centers.
The area planted to different kinds of vegetables and volume of production grown in the province is shown below.
Mango, Watermelon, Melon, Red Pepper31 Palayan City Onion, Tobacco, Mango, Gabi, Cadios32 San Jose City Garlic, Onion, Tomato, Eggplant,
Ampalaya, Mango, Cashew, SitaoSSource: OPA
It can be noted that vegetables are produced year-round but in greater quantities during the dry season due to favorable dry and cool weather. The total land area devoted to vegetable production during dry season (January-June) totaled 17,621 hectares while in the wet season, only 1,849 hectares was cultivated. The major vegetable crops grown are onion, ampalaya, eggplant, tomato, stringbeans and squash.
Nueva Ecija is the major onion producer in the region. In 2009 an area of 8,138 hectares was planted to onion with estimated production of 97,556.30 mt. Onion varieties that were planted include
the Red Creole (7,251.96 has), which accounts for the greatest share in terms of area planted, followed by Red Shallot (451.50 has) and Yellow Granex (434.70 has).
Majority of the onion produce, especially Red Creole is exported to Metro Manila and other Regions. Red Shallot on the otherhand is also being exported to neighboring countries like Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. The municipalities of Bongabon, Rizal, Guimba, and San Jose City are the major onion producers in the province. The onion industry in the province is contributing 60% of the total production in the Philippines.
Mushroom is another commodity being ventured into by a good number of farmers in the province. Although mushroom production is not yet on its industry level, a number of mushroom growers started to adopt a more advanced technology in order to intensify their production and meet the growing demands for mushroom by local consumers. Several government and non-government
Figure 5: Onion Area by Variety
organization in the province such as Tropical Mushroom Research and Development (CTMRD) of Central Luzon State University (CLSU), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Provincial Government concerted their efforts to push mushroom production as livelihood project in the province.
Orchard
Nueva Ecija is one of the provinces with the highest number of mango trees. Total mango tree population is 725,194 composed of 193,925 non-fruit bearing trees and 531,269 fruit bearing trees planted in a total area of 8,335.68 has.
In terms of the number of trees with the potential to bear fruits in the years to come, the province can soon be known as the mango capital in the Philippines because of the foreseen increases in production.
Aside from mango, Nueva Ecija is also producing a large volume of calamansi. Major producers are the city of Cabanatuan with an area of 425.19 hectares and the municipalities of San Leonardo and Gabaldon with an area of 263.95 hectares and 111.34 hectares respectively. Recorded production was 7,632.29 mt.
Table 25HIGH VALUE COMMERCIAL CROPS
CALAMANSI POPULATION 2010
Municipality No. of Farmers
No. of Trees Total no. Of Trees
Total Area (ha)Bearing Area (ha) Non-bearing Area (ha)
The province is also maintaining two (2) tilapia hatcheries located at barangay Caalibangbangan, Cabanatuan City and CLSU, Science City of Munoz, that are technically supervised by the Fishery Division of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist. These hatchery projects are producing tilapia fingerlings that are being dispersed to backyard fishpond operators for free or in 50:50 scheme.
LIVESTOCK
Nueva Ecija has the capability to produce supply of agricultural products including livestock and poultry. Its uplands and lowland areas, hills and mountains are conducive pasture areas for small and large ruminants such as goats, cattle and carabao. The proximity of some of the country’s leading livestock Research and Development (R&D) institutions, such as the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) which are both situated in the Science City of Muñoz, further serves to bolster livestock production through technology development and transfer.
The province’s total livestock production for the year 2010, for the dominant livestock as carabao, cattle, swine, goat and sheep are as follows:
Table 27Livestock Population 2010
SPECIES TOTAL POPULATION
CARABAO 53,950 CATTLE 32,895
SWINE 114,528 GOAT 79,780 SHEEP 8,906
TOTAL 290,059Source: BAS
To date, Nueva Ecija is becoming known as National Impact Zone for Dairy Buffalo production, producing quality milk that is now being exported to Metro Manila and several provinces of Central Luzon. This is mainly because of the existence of the PCC that continuously provides support thru the development of technologies to upgrade native carabaos and increase production of Murrah Buffalo. PCC and the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) also join hands in the implementation of Artificial Insemination Program which aims to increase conception rate in large animals producing high quality breeds of cattle and carabao. The technology is becoming well known to carabao raisers in the province with recorded 60% conception and increase calf drop.
Swine-raising is a dominant activity all over the province. Aside from the existence of big commercial piggery farms and breeder farms that produce stocks supplied to Metro Manila and in Northern provinces, backyard swine-raising, which is a popular livelihood amongst families, further contributes to the province’s swine production. The total swine population from commercial and backyard production in the province, as shown in Table 22 has a total of 114,528.
Table 28Livestock Production, By Municipality 2009
City/ Municipality
CARABAO CATTLE SWINE
Backyard Comm'l Total Backyard Comm'l Total Backyard Comm'l Total
Goat production is another interest among farmers in the province. Nueva Ecija is becoming known with restaurants serving goat meat dishes such as papaitan and kalderetang kambing. Due to
the growing industry, goat population has been steadily increasing in the past years with a province wide production now recorded at 78,788. The Center for Small Ruminants at the Central Luzon State University supports the industry with its efforts to develop technology in goat raising and production that is being disseminated and adopted by farmers all over the province.
When it comes to poultry, the Province of Nueva Ecija produces broilers and layers thru privately owned commercial farms and contract growers of multi-national feed companies. Aside from broilers and layers, native chicken is also abundant in Nueva Ecija. Very rare farm families have no native chicken raised in their backyard. Mallard and muscovy ducks are dominantly raised by farmers as well. The mallard ducks are propagated for duck meat consumption and muscovy ducks are predominantly raised for the eggs they produce, commonly processed into “balot” and salted eggs (“itlog na pula”). Poultry population is detailed below.