Baltazar, Ma. Francheska M.

10-C

math individual research

PHILIPPINE RICE CONSUMPTION
Philippines’ most important staple crop: Rice accounts for 25% of food
expenditures of the poorest 30% of the population. A 25% increase in rice prices
translates into a 7-10% drop in real incomes of poor consumers. Rice consumption,
2009-10: 123.3 kg milled rice per person per year.

Rice is a staple food for most Filipinos across the country. The nation’s per capita
rice consumption rose from 93.2 kg per year in 1995 to 123.3 kg per year in 2009.
Similarly, per capita caloric intake from rice rose from 917 kcal per day in 1995 to 1,213
kcal per day in 2009. Protein requirements from rice, on average, increased from 29.7%
in 1995 to 34.8% per person per day in 2009.
The Philippines imports about 10% of its annual consumption requirements. In
2010 and 2011, the country was the biggest rice importer. Its rice imports amounted to
2.38 million t in 2010, mostly coming from Vietnam and Thailand. Despite these imports,
rice prices for consumers are some of the highest in developing Asia (as are farm-gate
prices for farmers). The high prices are enforced through an import control by the
National Food Authority (NFA), a government agency, which also procures paddy from
farmers at a government support price. The NFA is also involved in rice distribution by
selling rice through the agency’s licensed and accredited retailers/wholesalers in
strategic areas at a predetermined price.

Although rice is the main staple in the country, it is a highly political commodity.
The Philippine rice sector has always been the centre of the government’s agricultural
policies. The focal points of the policies revolve around promoting rice self-sufficiency
and providing high income to farmers while making rice prices affordable to consumers.

PHILIPPINE RICE PRODUCTION

The Philippines is the world’s eighth-largest rice producer. Its arable land totals 5.4
million hectares. Rice area harvested has expanded from nearly 3.8 million hectares in
1995 to about 4.4 million hectares in 2010. However, the country’s rice area harvested is
still very small compared with that of the other major rice-producing countries in Asia.
More than two-thirds (69%) of its rice area is irrigated. The country’s production
increased by a third, from 10.5 million t in 1995 to 15.8 million t in 2010. Seventy-one
percent of rice production came from irrigated areas. Although yield improved from 2.8
t/ha in 1995 to 3.6 t/ha in 2010, it was still way below the yield potential of modern
varieties.

Rice accounts for around 20% of the GVA of Philippine agriculture. Rice employs
2.5 households, broken down into 2.1 million farmers, 110,000 workers for post-farm
activities and 320,000 for ancillary activities.

For the Philippines to become self-sufficient in rice, it has to adopt existing

technologies such as improved varieties and know-how to have yield increase by 1–3
t/ha. Better quality seed combined with good management, including new postharvest
technologies, is the best way to improve rice yields and the quality of production.

Since current rice yield is way below the yield potential of most modern varieties,
improved fertilizer use and crop management, better irrigation facilities, and high-yielding
varieties can boost the country’s rice output. The main source of additional rice
production is improved yield growth. However, the government must implement a
strategy to reduce population growth since the actual volume of rice produced by the
country is not enough to match rice demand because of the high increase in population.
If population growth will be higher than the growth in yield, the country will continue to
import rice from other countries to meet domestic demand for rice in the coming years.

POPULATION OF THE PHILIPPINES

There are approximately 108,307,717 people in the country of the Philippines.
Philippines has steadily growing for many years. It is the 13th most populated country in
the world, between Mexico and Ethiopia. The 2019 population is 108.12 million,
according to the latest UN estimates.

Philippines is an archipelago made up of over 7,000 islands that total 115,831 square
miles (300,000 square kilometres). Most of the islands are pretty small, but a few larger
ones like Luzon and Mindanao account for a large portion of the surface area. The
overall population density of the Philippines is 939 people per square mile (363 people
per square kilometre).

The largest city in the Philippines is Quezon City, which contains approximately
2,936,116 people. To make things even more complicated, the entire Greater Manila
urban area spills out beyond the boundaries of Metro Manila and is reported to contain
around 22.7 million people, which is a quarter of the Philippines' entire population.

Philippine Population Growth:

Based on 2015 census data, the population in 2016 in the Philippines was 100,981,437.
Based on the 2015 census results, the population increased by over 8 million people
when compared to the 2010 census results. The growth rate has slowed slightly from the
previous census, down to 1.72% from 1.89%.

Philippine Demographics:
Unsurprisingly for a country that is made up of many islands, the Philippines contains a
diverse range of ethnic groups. The latest data available comes from the 2000 census,
which reported the following breakdown:

Tagalog, 28.1%
Cebuano, 13.1%
Ilocano, 9%
Bisaya, 7.6%
Hiligaynon, 7.5%
Bikol, 6%
Waray, 3.4%
Other, 25.3%

REFERENCES:

N.A. (n.d.).“Philippines Population 2019 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)”. In World

Population Review Website. Retrieved from:
http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/philippines-population/

N.A. (n.d.). “Philippines - Ricepedia”. In Ricepedia (The only authority on rice). Retrieved
from:
http://ricepedia.org/philippines

N.A. (n.d.). “RICE PRODUCTION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION: ISSUES AND

PERSPECTIVES - M.K.”. In FAO Org. Retrieved from:
http://www.fao.org/3/x6905e/x6905e04.htm