AGRICULTURE SECTORS comprise establishments primarily engaged in
growing crops, raising animals, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm,
ranch, or their natural habitats.
Subsistence agriculture is often divided into three different types including:
 intensive subsistence, which is the traditional method,
 shifting cultivation, which relies on clearing forest to create new farm
plots every few years
 pastoral nomadism, which relies on traveling with herds of animals.
The five components of the agricultural revolution are:
 Machinery
 land under cultivation
 fertilizers and pesticides
 Irrigation
 high-yielding varieties of plants.
The Philippines' major agricultural products include rice, coconuts,
corn,sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, and mangoes. From 1999 to 2003, women's
participation was significant in planting/transplanting, manual weeding, care of crops
and harvesting. Women were least involved in land preparation and furrowing.
Crop Production
Major agricultural systems include lowland irrigated farming, rainfed farming and
upland farming. Irrigated farm areas mainly grow rice and sugarcane whereas rainfed
areas are planted with coconut, corn and cassava. The Philippines' major agricultural
products include rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane, bananas, pineapples, and mangoes.
Forestry
The continuous destruction of the environment threatens everyone, but has graver
consequences for marginalized women and indigenous communities. The immediate
effects of environmental problems on them include not only the loss of traditional
sources of livelihood and food, but also serious damage to health and life (FPW,
2001-2004).
Since time immemorial, women and indigenous cultural communities have taken
part in the maintenance of ecosystems. A corollary of this is that they are especially
affected by the deterioration of the environment. There is a need therefore to harness
women and indigenous groups as active agents in the preservation of the
environment: as advocates supporting programmes for environmental maintenance;
as vigilant groups deterring polluters; as educators advocating values on
conservation/development of natural resources and preservation of the environment;
or as agents of technology generation for environmental sustainability (PPGD 1995-
2025).
Fisheries
Fisheries is an important sector in the Philippine economy. Currently, the fisheries
sector is besieged with major issues and concerns brought about by the open-access
policy in fisheries resources use, the rapid increase in population size of the poverty-
stricken fishing communities where the exploitation of natural resources is most
intense, and the inability of the government to provide for an environment that can
support the fishery industry's growth and development (DA, 2004).
Livestock
Livestock production contributed 12.7 percent to total agricultural output. The most
common livestock raised in the Philippines include broiler chickens, carabao, cattle,
ducks, goats, and swine.
In the dairy sector, women are involved mainly in: sanitizing milk equipment and
facilities; cleaning cattle barns, grazing areas and surroundings; and conversion of
raw milk into milk products. Men participate more in: production, cultivation and
harvesting of fodder and other crops; water collection; collection of feeds of animals;
watering and grazing cattle; calving animals; tending to sick animals; and milking
and bathing of cattle. Both women and men share responsibilities in feeding the
cattle, and the proper management and handling of cattle prior to milking (NDA,
2005).
Women who are involved in dairying, especially those who actively participate in
dairy production, are prone to physical strain compared with men. The lack of
machine-assisted facilities or equipment (e.g. milk machine) that would aid women
in milking the cows can be an additional burden to women in terms of time and
physical ability or strength. The additional time that is required of manual labour
may also eat up time from their caregiving functions at home and to their children,
thus creating multiple burdens on women (NDA, 2005).
Division of Labour in Dairying
Most women seem to be unaware of their potential roles in dairying, thus missing out
on their possible contributions to the sector's development. The farmers' views on
traditional roles in dairying, the lack of effective gender responsive dairy campaigns,
the failure to value women's work in dairying and to deliberately target women
beneficiaries are factors that make women unaware of their roles as potential
contributors in the dairy industry (NDA, 2005).
Although women assume mainly the responsibilities of the daily activities in goat
raising (herding, feeding, cleaning of the pen, cleaning of females anuses, assisting
nursing of kids), they have a minor role in receiving and applying new techniques
that could improve overall goat raising (Solis, 2002).
IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. It is the backbone of our
economic system. Agriculture not only provides food and raw material but also
employment opportunities to a very large proportion of population.