The production of major vegetables and root crops, such as cassava and eggplant, expanded in the fourth quarter of 2016 due to favorable weather, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its quarterly report, titled “Major Vegetables and Root crops Quarterly Bulletin”, the PSA said cassava production during the October-to-December period grew 2.3 percent to 776,200 metric tons (MT), from 758,882 MT recorded in the same period in 2015.
“This could be attributed to the increase in area harvested in Zamboanga del Sur and Bukidnon due to increased demand for feeds and other industrial uses,” the PSA said in the report published over the weekend.
“Bigger sizes of tubers [were also] harvested in Agusan del Sur due to sufficient soil moisture during tuber formation,” it added.
The PSA said the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was the top producer of cassava during the period, with output reaching 424,940 MT, which accounted for 54.7 percent of the total production. This is slightly higher than the 423,645 MT produced in 2015.
“The other major [cassava] producers were Northern Mindanao, which contributed 14.3 percent [of total], and Cagayan Valley with 8.3 percent,” the PSA said.
In the fourth quarter, eggplant output increased 2 percent to 23,480 MT, from 23,020 MT output recorded in the same period in 2015, according to the PSA.
The PSA said the output increase could be attributed to expansion of hectarage and availability of planting materials.
“This could be attributed [to] increase in area planted in Agusan del Sur due to sufficient rains during planting time and availability of seeds from the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the local government unit (LGU) in Surigao del Sur,” the PSA said.
“More fruits [were also] harvested in Cebu due to sufficient soil moisture,” the PSA added.
Calabarzon was the top eggplant-producing region, accounting for almost 20 percent of the total output in the period, the PSA said. However, the region’s output declined by 1.4 percent during the October-to-December period to 4,595 MT from 4,660 MT recorded in 2015.
On an annual basis, data from the PSA also showed that the production of sweet potato and tomato expanded in the fourth quarter of 2016 by 4.7 percent and 4.1 percent.
“In October to December 2016, production of sweet potato was estimated at 127,850 MT, 4.7 percent higher than last year’s 122,170 MT,” the PSA said.
“The increase could be traced to the increase in area harvested in Agusan del Sur due to adequate rainfall during planting time and bigger sizes of tubers harvested in Agusan del Sur and Cebu due to sufficient soil moisture during tuber formation,”
the PSA added.
PSA data also showed that tomato output reached 28,350 MT, 4.1 percent higher than the 27,220 MT recorded in 2015. The agency said farmers were encouraged to plant more tomato due to high prices and “adequate fertilizer support” from their LGUs.
Typhoon Lawin (international code name Haima), which hit the Philippines last October, reduced the output of mongo, cabbage and onion in the fourth quarter, according to the PSA.
“The October to December 2016 production of mungbean slightly dropped by 0.3 percent, from 3,130 MT in 2015 to 3,120 MT in the fourth quarter,” the PSA said.
“This could be attributed to the decrease in area planted in Sulu due to peace and order situation; and in Agusan del Sur due to lesser rains during planting time and shifting of some areas to cassava production in Basilan due to changing weather condition,” it added.
On a yearly basis cabbage and onion production dropped by 3.3 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. The PSA said cabbage production reached 50,410 MT, while onion production amounted to 9,137 MT during the period.