Agriculture
Crops and Cereals
Total land area in the province devoted to agriculture consists of 302,729 hectares, 167,515 hectares of which are planted to major crops, the rest are utilized for the cultivation of indusrial and minor crops.
Irrigated fields contributed the bulk of the palay production with a 2.5 cropping per year which reached 48,622 metric tons or 82.43 per cent of the total production while the remaining 17.57 per cent or 10,362 metric tons were derived from lowland and upland rain fed areas. In 2001, an estimated basic area of 16,255 hectares was under irrigation where productivity was calculated at 2.99 metric tons per hectare. The yield from irrigated rice lands was considerably higher than those obtained from the less productive rain fed areas, which averaged 2.09 metric tons per hectare.
The province continues to import rice and corn from its neighboring provinces in the Visayas and Northern Mindanao. Palay production in 2001 reached 58,984 metric tons. This volume was harvested from an area of 21,210 hectares resulting in an average yield of 2.78 metric tons per hectare, equivalent to 55.6 cavans of 50-kilogram content.
Coconut plantations in the province have an aggregate land area of 143,394 hectares, constituting about 10 per cent of the total land area with Bayawan City lording over all the cities and municipalities.
Cocal area has increased through the years, from an estimated area of 42,400 hectares in 1990 to 80,518 hectares in 1995. The average annual number of nuts produced per tree suffered a decline, from 46 nuts in 1990 to 34 nuts in 1995, and 20 nuts in the year 2000. Consequently, copra production dropped to 18,444 metric tons in 2001 from 54,810 metric tons in 1990. The number of fruit-bearing coconut trees also dramatically decreased from 7,282,217 in 1995 to 4,459,265 in the year 2000.
Mango is the major fruit commodity in Negros Oriental. It remains a high priority in agricultural development due to its high export market potential. A total area of 2,706.50 hectares is planted to mango. Carabao mango is the most abundant variety in the province with Bindoy having the highest bearing tree population of 10,211 trees. Manjuyod follows with 9,684 trees and San Jose, 8,125 trees.
Tanjay City has the highest number of non-bearing mango trees with 43,927; Bayawan, 32,747 trees; and, Pamplona, 14,286 trees. Because of the high export demand in the world market, local farmers were enthusiastic in expanding their mango plantations. Table 34.0 shows the area planted to carabao mango variety by municipality and city.
Agricultural Extension Services
Establishment of Barangay Agricultural Development Centers (BADC) in the hinterland areas gained support of some city and municipal chief executives and legislators in the province. BADCs serve as venues for technology transfer, trainings, seminars and meetings of farmers in the farflung areas. A total of 52 BADCs are put up in at least 21 municipalities and cities.
Fishery
Fish Production
Fish production in Negros Oriental in 2002 was 17,179 metric tons 4,983 metric tons of which were from commercial fishing; 9,513 metric tons were from municipal fishing; and 2,683 metric tons were aquaculture. Shown below is a table presenting that the provinmce’s production is only 8.5 per cent of the total fishery production of the Central Visayas region. These figures are slightly higher that the volume of production from 1999 until 2001. Municipal fishing consistently had the highest volume, followed by commercial fishing.
To improve fish production, 32 marine protected areas for bio-diversity were established in 20 municipalities in Negros Oriental by the local Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and othe line agencies. Table 37.0 shows the marine protected.
Fish Sufficiency Level
In 2002, fish production in Negros Oriental was 17,179 metric tons, and fish consumption was 39,693 metric tons. Computing production over consumption, fish sufficiency level is only 43 per cent, showing a deficit of 22,2514 metric tons. Fish deficiency in Negros Oriental is the highest in the Central Visayas region.
Fishponds
At least 148 individuals are operating fishponds in Negros Oriental, the biggfest of which is 92.8800 hectares of the Sycip Plantation in Tamisu, Bais City. Following is a table showing the fishpond operators with their respective areas developed and location.
Tanjay City has the most number of fishpond operators consisting of 130 persons who own/manage 936.2 hectares of fishpond area. The combined fishpond areas of Bais and Tanjay cities account for nearly 68 per cent of existing fishponds in Negros Oriental.