RICE INDUSTRY PROFILE: NORTH COTABATO

GENERAL INFORMATION The original Cotabato Province, known as the Empire Province of Cotabato, used to be the largest in the country in terms of land area until November 22, 1973 when PD 341 created from it the new provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao. Earlier, South Cotabato was segregated, and what was then North Cotabato was renamed Cotabato under Batas Pambansa 660. (Image 1) Now only 900,890 hectares (roughly 9,008 sq. km.) in area (2007 census), it is still big enough to comprise about 40% of the total land area of Region XII (SOCCKSARGEN). Located in central Mindanao, Cotabato is bounded on the north by the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon; on the east by Davao City; on the southeast by Davao del Sur; on the west by Maguindanao and on the southwest by Sultan Kudarat (Image 2). Its land area stretches west from Mt. Apo, to the Piapayungan Range on its boundary with Lanao. In the midst of these uplands is the basin of the Pulangi River or Rio Grande de Mindanao, the second longest in the Philippines at 300 km, which rises in Bukidnon and flows south to Maguindanao and Illana Bay. The provinces fertile plains are traversed by tributaries of this great river.

IMAGE 1: Empire Province of Cotabato

IMAGE 2: Map of North Cotabato

Typhoons do not pass through North Cotabato. It falls under the 4th Climatic Type having an evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year with no pronounced rainy periods. This rainfall pattern contributes to high production levels in agriculture. Under the Department of Finances 2008 Income Re-classification, Cotabato is considered a 1st Class province with a total population of 1,121,974 (2007 census). Politically, it is subdivided into two (2) legislative districts, with 17 municipalities and a component city that represent some 543 barangays.

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION (North) Cotabato is a major producer of cereals, tropical fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, rubber, coffee, freshwater fish and livestock. Based on the 2003-2008 Major Crops Statistics of the Philippines released by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics in 2009, out of the countrys 79 provinces, Cotabato was one of the top producers of major crops under the following commodity groupings: Cereals, Fruit Crops, Non-Food and Industrial Crops and Vegetables and Root Crops (Table 1). Table 1. Production of 21 Major Crops of the Philippines: North Cotabato
MAJOR CROP Palay Corn Abaca Coconut Coffee Rubber Sugarcane Tobacco Banana Calamansi Mango Pineapple Cabbage Camote Cassava Eggplant Garlic Mongo Onion Peanut Tomato
Source: (BAS, 2009)

RANK 9th 5th 30th 11th 1st 7th 13th 4th 4th 6th 9th 21st 24th 8th NA 13th NA 25th 11th

VOLUME OF PRODUCTION (MT) 491,715 368,162 nil 180,448 2,564 163,220 688,127 34 608,397 5,396 24,629 nil 994 7,213 9,340 5 ,017 NA 368 NA 238 4,110

PRODUCTION AREA (HECTARE) 131,870 133,890 nil 37,000 3,793 30,175 10,686 21 15,568 615 7 ,480 nil 132 1,226 941 429 NA 442 NA 257 499

The provinces livestock and inland fish production is likewise relatively significant (Table 2). Table 2. Summary of Livestock and Inland Fish Production: North Cotabato
LIVESTOCK/FISH Hogs (heads) Cattle (heads) Carabao (heads) Chicken (heads) Fish (MT)
Source: (BAS, 2008-2010)

2008 (1st qrtr) 233,244 58,348 2,489,339 2,123

2009 (1st qrtr) 236,124 60,543 2,329,297 3,704

2010 (1st qrtr) 256,793 62,910 102,842 2,306,981 3,126

Of the provinces 632,000 population of 15 years old and above, the labor force is equivalent to some ???? of which ???? is employed. Of this, an estimated ?? is employed in agriculture related jobs.

RICE INDUSTRY Paddy rice is one of the main cash crops of Cotabato, contributing nearly 40% of Region XIIs total rice production. This is roughly 12.8% of Mindanaos contribution to the nations produce in 2009 or 3% of the countrys palay production that year. Among the 27 southern provinces, Cotabato has been the top rice producer in the past 10 years, even besting the combined output of the provinces of Region XI (Davao) or of CARAGA in 2008 and 2009. (Chart 1)

Chart 1: Rice Production: RXI, Cotabato, and CARAGA Production Area Cultivation of irrigated and rainfed rice is practiced in all municipalities of the province, but extensively in Mlang, Pigcawayan, Libungan, Midsayap, Kabacan, Tulunan, and Makilala. The presence of River Irrigation Systems in these areas as well as dominance of clay-based type soils in its agricultural lands provide them an advantage for producing the countrys staple. Recently, Pikit has been added to this list with the construction and operation of the Maridagao River Irrigation System which serves some 1,000 hectares in four (4) Moro-dominated barangays (MindaNews, June 2008). The system is part of the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project I (MalMar project), which also covers the municipality of Carmen and Pagalungan, Maguindanao (GMA News, June 2008). Cotabatos estimated minimum land area devoted to the production of palay is placed at 132,659 hectares in 2009. Over the past 10 years, this area either increased or decreased (Table 3) depending on mitigating circumstances (e.g., availability of irrigation services, drought, impetus from government, financing issues, etc.). Table 3. Minimum Rice Area, Irrigated and Rainfed: North Cotabato
RICELAND Irrigated Rainfed TOTALS % or
(from prior yr)

2000 88,427 36,463 124,890 -5.70

2001 86,731 34,442 121,173 -2.98

2002 85,145 31,964 117,109 -3.35

2003 83,821 29,514 113,335 -3.22

2004 84,128 35,739 119,867 5.76

2005 83,747 34,403 118,150 -1.43

2006 85,078 36,964 122,042 3.29

2007 87,772 35,085 122,857 0.67

2008 91,128 40,742 131,870 7.34

2009 91,411 41,248 132,659 0.60

Source: (BAS, 2010)

Chart 2 shows the top 10 municipalities in terms of land area planted to palay in 2008 as identified by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.

Chart 2. Top 10 Municipalities in terms of Rice Areas (has), 2008 It is interesting to note that among the extensively planted areas identified by OPAg Cotabato, Makilala does not belong to the top 10 rice planted areas. The combined areas of other extensively planted municipalities account for almost 80% of the palay producing fields of the province, with the top 3 (Mlang, Tulunan, and Midasayap) cornering more than 50%. Yield The provinces particular topography plus being outside the typhoon-belt helped in making and sustaining it as one of the Top 10 Rice Producing Provinces in the country since 2000. (Table 4) Table 4. Top 10 Rice Producing Provinces of the Philippines
Palay Nueva Ecija Isabela Pangasinan Iloilo Cagayan Leyte Tarlac Camarines Sur North Cotabato Ranking % or Maguindanao Negros Occ. Sultan Kudarat 2000 Annual 878,707 1,034,297 720,121 599,293 513,600 282,160 383,581 330,966 415,366 (6th) 7.42% 241,559 370,587 308,111 2001 Annual 954,899 1,048,458 742,156 635,914 513,991 306,713 426,992 347,725 428,794 (6th) 3.13% 269,161 328,008 342,736 2002 Annual 968,754 954,585 738,820 736,123 507,036 346,821 432,379 386,160 425,434 (7th) -0.79% 258,712 325,639 340,808 2003 Annual 1,101,798 938,405 800,438 729,368 482,884 387,326 462,224 381,039 394,006 (7th) -7.98% 224,222 350,749 344,635 2004 Annual 1,128,070 1,061,979 809,240 829,027 571,200 417,048 480,042 501,343 417,123 (8th) 5.54% 355,055 384,311 367,190 2005 Annual 1,136,623 1,089,381 835,874 670,300 491,806 458,641 493,414 524,625 420,783 (9th) 0.87% 400,446 391,667 357,664 2006 Annual 1,231,176 987,760 976,198 854,646 688,919 479,264 478,521 464,277 433,641 (9th) 2.97% 400,573 413,906 395,435 2007 Annual 1,356,161 1,036,917 1,011,115 823,376 702,561 582,840 557,943 560,809 449,202 (9th) 3.46% 433,766 425,112 400,384 2008 Annual 1,372,378 1,063,875 1,027,289 942,286 707,172 605,833 550,552 526,936 491,715 (9th) 8.65% 432,589 432,527 399,511

Note: Negros Occidental and Sultan Kudarat alternately placed 10th between 2000-2004, afterwhich they were overtaken by Maguindanao. Source: (BAS, 2010)

Since 2000, Cotabatos production have been stable at over 410MT annually, except for 2003. Over the 9-year period of 2000-2008, the province recorded an average increase in production of 2.59%. The decline in Cotabatos ranking from 6th to 9th place is attributed to the increase in production of Leyte, Tarlac and Camarines Sur. This is shown in 2001 when Tarlac

    

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overtook Cotabato in 6th place, in 2004 as CamSur surged to 6th place, then again in 2005 when Leyte dislodged Cotabato at 8th. Table 5 provides a breakdown of the provinces total production according to type of Riceland from 2000-2008, while Table 6 presents the level of production per municipality in 2009. Table 5. Volume of Palay Production, Irrigated and Rainfed.
Palay Irrigated Rainfed TOTALS 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 320,335 332,663 337,246 319,087 324,694 320,254 330,247 353,100 367,733 95,031 96,131 88,188 74,919 92,429 100,529 103,394 96,102 123,982 415,366 428,794 425,434 394,006 417,123 420,783 433,641 449,202 491,715

Source: (BAS, 2010)

Table 6. Summary of Rice Production Per Municipality, 2009.

Planting Municipality Irrigated (ha) Rainfed (ha) 2,310 665 490 2,245 1,858 161 814 1,356 Total (ha) 5,635 741 2,280 1,024 2,473 9,949 9,739 3,642 5,827 2,539 2,246 8,798 12,211 22,584 6,071 7,293 6,965 12,575 122,592 100 Irrigated Area (ha) 2,800 76 1,875 534 228 6,985 8,137 2,828 3,741 2,359 2,246 7,067 9,654 15,091 5,160 1,941 6,965 9,883 87,570 77.5 Prodn (MT) 11,460 256 7,357 1,931 893 26,830 41,221 9,549 14,413 8,781 10,025 30,290 39,765 62,884 23,110 8,302 28,934 46,997 376,532 81.63 Harvesting Rainfed Area (ha) 2,310 665 487 2,185 1,858 161 814 1,278 Prodn (MT) 5,973 1,706 1,469 7,014 5,761 705 2,673 4,149 Total Area Harvested (ha) 5,110 741 1,875 1,021 2,413 8,843 8,298 3,642 5,019 2,359 2,246 8,798 10,467 19,644 6,071 7,239 6,965 12,248 112,999 100 Total Production (MT) 17,433 1,963 7,357 3,401 7,906 32,591 41,926 12,221 18,561 8,781 10,025 37,152 42,483 77,960 25,941 26,149 28,934 56,925 461,244 100 Average Yield/ha

Alamada 3,325 Aleosan 76 Antipas 2,280 Arakan 534 Banisilan 228 Carmen 8,091 Kabacan 9,578 Kidapawan 2,828 Libungan 4,47 Magpet 2,539 Makilala 2,246 Matalam 7,067 Midsayap 11,398 Mlang 18,031 Pigcawayan 5,160 Pikit 1,941 Pres. Roxas 6,965 Tulunan 10,210 Total 96,968 % 79.1 Source: (OPAg, 2010)

1,731 813 4,553 911 5,352 2,365 25,624 20.9

1,731 813 4,553 911 5,298 2,365 25,429 22.5

6,862 2,719 15,077 2,832 17,847 9,928 84,713 18.37

3.4 2.6 3.9 3.3 3.3 3.7 5.1 3.4 3.7 3.7 4.5 4.2 4.1 4.0 4.3 3.6 4.2 4.6 4.1

Data in Table 6 shows that in terms of Total Area Planted, Total Area Harvested and Total Production the municipalities of Mlang, Tulunan, and Midsayap are consistently ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Their combined production comprises over 38% of the provinces palay yield, respectively contributing around 17, 12.34, and 9.21 percent.

Unlike the top three producers, the rest of the noteworthy municipalities present some seeming disparities and opportunities for development intervention. For example, while Carmen is on 4th place in area planted and area harvested, it is only 6th in level of production and belongs to the 4th lowest yielders at only 3.7 tons per hectare. Kabacan and Matalam, which had lesser land area planted to palay, producing higher yields due to their high average per hectare yield at 5.1 tons and 4.2 tons, respectively. Interestingly, among the three top producers, only Tulunan had a high average yield of 4.6 tons per hectare, which is 2nd to Kabacans 5.1 tons. However, the latter was only 4th in production level, contributing 41,926 MT or 557 MT less than the 3rd highest producer. Mlang and Midsayap, on the other hand, placed only 7th and 6th in average yield, with averages of only 4.0 and 4.1 tons per hectare, respectively (the latter, being the provincial average). Makilala, which neither ranked in area planted nor area harvested, and was only 3rd to the last (or in 16th place) in total production, held the distinction of having the 3rd highest average yield per hectare at 4.5 tons. Value of production Cotabato is one of only 12 provinces considered as rice surplus areas of the Philippines, half of which are in Mindanao (Image 3). In 2008, the province had an estimated surplus of around 89,902MT of milled rice or about 1.798M bags.

Image 3. Rice Distribution Map of Mindanao, NFA.

Table 7 presents the breakdown of rice production, utilization and estimated value of surplus(deficit) per municipality as reported by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist in 2008. Using the data provided by OPAg Cotabato, the provinces total production of 430,451MT palay could have generated about 5,595,863 sacks of milled rice which could have an estimated value of PhP 3.497B at that time. Of this, some 89,902MT was the provinces surplus in milled rice, which had an estimated value of PhP1.123B.

Table 7. Summary of Rice Production, Utilization, and Estimated Value Per Municipality, 2008.
RICE SEED NET SURPLUS/ FIELD ANIMAL MILLED HUMAN EATING REQT PRODN DEFICIT, LOSSES FEEDS RICE CONSUMPN PRODN MUN/CITY POP (MT) FOR MILLED (MT) (MT) (MT) (MT) (MT) (89% of 0.06 MILLING RICE 13% 7% 65% RR 0.13MT/hd/yr Total) MT/ha (MT) (MT) Alamada 12,026 46,427 1,563 214 841.8 9,406.8 6,114.4 6,035.5 78.9 Aleosan 6,125 29,258 796 136 428.8 4,764.0 3,096.6 3,803.5 -706.9 Antipas 5,405 20,374 703 89 378.4 4,235.0 2,752.8 2,648.6 104.1 Arakan 14,663 34,458 1,906 333 1,026.4 11,397.4 7,408.3 4,479.5 2,928.8 Banisilan 7,876 32,545 1,024 155 551.3 6,145.8 3,994.8 4,230.9 -236.1 Carmen 8,491 58,446 1,104 164 594.4 6,628.8 4,308.7 7,598.0 -3,289.3 Kabacan 58,714 65,852 7,633 635 4,110.0 46,336.2 30,118.5 8,560.8 21,557.8 Kidapawan 11,137 104,673 1,448 181 779.6 8,728.6 5,673.6 13,607.5 -7,933.9 Libungan 14,157 39,091 1,840 255 991.0 11,070.6 7,195.9 5,081.8 2,114.1 Magpet 9,561 39,261 1,243 153 669.3 7,495.8 4,872.3 5,103.9 -231.7 Makilala 9,735 63,673 1,266 130 681.5 7,658.0 4,977.7 8,277.5 -3,299.8 Matalam 23,299 58,922 3,029 332 1,630.9 18,307.2 11,899.7 7,659.9 4,239.8 Midsayap 48,527 109,758 6,309 693 3,396.9 38,128.6 24,783.6 14,268.5 10,515.1 Mlang 79,924 76,826 10,390 1,085 5,594.7 62,854.2 40,855.2 9,987.4 30,867.9 Pigcawayan 20,973 52,862 2,726 408 1,468.1 16,370.4 10,640.8 6,872.1 3,768.7 Pikit 10,784 85,771 1,402 185 754.9 8,442.2 5,487.4 11,150.2 -5,662.8 Pres. Roxas 22,948 38,388 2,983 333 1,606.4 18,025.4 11,716.5 4,990.4 6,726.1 Tulunan 66,106 41,972 8,594 857 4,627.4 52,027.8 33,818.1 5,456.4 28,361.7 430,451 998,557 55,959 6,338 30,131.6 338,022.8 219,714.8 129,812.4 89,902.4 Total Source: (2008 Socio-Economic Profile Province of (North) Cotabato, Provincial Planning and Development Office, 2009) Assumption: Estimated Value of Surplus(Deficit) computed at PhP625.00/cavan of 50 kgs. ESTIMATED VALUE (PhP) 986,375.00 -8,836,750.00 1,301,625.00 36,609,625.00 -2,951,000.00 -41,115,750.00 269,472,125.00 -99,173,750.00 26,425,750.00 -2,895,750.00 -41,247,375.00 52,997,750.00 131,438,125.00 385,848,125.00 47,108,750.00 -70,785,000.00 84,075,875.00 354,521,375.00 1,123,780,125.00

While there were 11 municipalities with surpluses of milled rice in 2008, Mlang, the top surplus producer, had more than enough (30,867MT) to cover the provinces total deficit (21,360.5MT). As expected, the City of Kidapawan, being the main urban area had the most deficit at 7,933.9MT or 158,678 sacks of milled rice valued at PhP99.173M. Infrastructure support All of the 17 municipalities and the capital city of Cotabato are serviced by a combination of irrigation facilities: national, communal, pump, small water impounding projects, and shallow tube wells. The Provincial Irrigation Office (NIA-PIO) reported that more than 200 irrigation facilities are existing in the province by 2009. Fifty-two of these are communal irrigation systems (CIS), 53 are Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIP), 94 units of Shallow Tube Wells (STW), and 5 National Irrigation systems (NIS). Table 8 presents the breakdown of existing irrigation facilities in Cotabato province according to location, type, and service areas. Table 8. Existing Irrigation Systems in Cotabato.
LOCATION ALEOSAN SUB-TOTAL ANTIPAS SUB-TOTAL ALAMADA CIS (9) SWIP (1) Private (5) SUB-TOTAL TYPE STW (7) CIS (4) STW (1) SERVICE AREA (HA) 84 84 216 19 235 505 17 202 724

Table 8 cont.
235 6 SUB-TOTAL 241 CIS (1) 100 BANISILAN SUB-TOTAL 100 NIS (1) 4,013 KABACAN CIS (5) 1,016 STW (6) 111 SUB-TOTAL 5,140 CIS (9) 1,202 KIDAPAWAN SWIP (1) 65 SUB-TOTAL 1,267 NIS (1) 1,439 LIBUNGAN CIS (3) 170 STW (5) 28 SUB-TOTAL 1,637 RIS (1) 941 MATALAM CIS (3) 529 STW (9) 593 SUB-TOTAL 2,063 CIS (5) 801 MAKILALA SUB-TOTAL 801 CIS (7) 737 MAGPET SUB-TOTAL 737 NIS (1) 2,932 CARMEN STW (3) 136 SUB-TOTAL 3,068 NIS (1) 1,093 PIGCAWAYAN CIS (8) 1,227 Pump (3) 27 SWIP (4) 195 STW (11) 55 SUB-TOTAL 2,597 NIS (1) 5,984 MIDSAYAP STW (2) 7 SUB-TOTAL 5,991 NIS (1) 40 TULUNAN CIS (11) 3,262 STW (14) 606 SWIP (4) 122 SUB-TOTAL 4,030 NIS (2) 7,191 MLANG CIS (2) 227 STW (3) 55 SUB-TOTAL 7,473 CIS (1) 66 PIKIT SWIP (1) 17 STW (5) 178 SUB-TOTAL 261 CIS (6) 1,162 PRES. ROXAS SUB-TOTAL 1,162 ESTIMATED TOTAL IRRIGATED AREA 37,611 NIS: National Irrigation System CIS: Communal Irrigation System STW: Shallow Tube Well SWIP: Small Water Impounding Project ARAKAN CIS (2) STW (1)

The seeming discrepancy between the irrigated areas reported by BAS in Table 3 (91,411 has) and the above total from NIA-PIO Cotabato (37,611 has) may be due to doubling of NIA data to cover 2 croppings plus areas that may have been irrigated but unbilled by NIA or IAs.

Postharvest Facilities OPAg Cotabato lists some 3,336 postharvest facilities for rice and corn (Table 9). It can be noted that while the technologies for rice postharvest have already highly mechanized, there are only 17 mechanical driers servicing the top producing province of Mindanao. Even with a total of almost 1,300 multipurpose drying pavements (that can dry a high average of 70 sacks of paddy at a given time), plus the existing mechanical driers, such facilities are sorely wanting in effectively and efficiently servicing the more than 430,000MT of paddy the province produces in a year. While the same list from OPAg Cotabato refers to some 321 rice milling facilities, a check with NFA Cotabato has only over a hundred of these in their roster. According to a staff in charge of monitoring these facilities, only 53 are operating at levels and quality acceptable to local and mainstream markets. Table 9. Inventory of Existing Postharvest Facilities, 2008.
FARM LEVEL PHF MUN THRESHER Alamada* 30 Arakan* 14 Magpet* 11 Pigcawayan* 140 Pikit* 37 Pres Roxas* 91 Tulunan* 226 Aleosan* 35 Carmen* 38 Makilala* 34 Matalam* 53 Kidapawan** 2 Antipas 32 Kabacan 223 Mlang 285 Banisilan 0 Libungan 0 Midsayap 0 TOTAL 1,251 * - validated by barangay MULTIPURP DRYING PAVEMENT 125 56 28 97 98 68 148 96 129 94 82 47 63 127 40 DRYING FACILITIES MECH DRIER 1 3 COLUMN DRIER FLATBED DRIER STORAGE WAREHOUSE 23 20 2 31 18 19 46 36 68 9 13 17 27 8 MILLING FACILITIES RICE & RICE CORN MILL MILL 28 4 39 4 4 35 19 20 73 26 8 6 4 13 29 21 TOTAL

6 1 1

210 130 49 306 172 198 500 194

1 1

1,298 9 ** - lacks barangay validation

3 337 321 Source: OPAg 2008 and BPHRE Inventory 2001

12

3,236

It is also worthwhile to note that while there are listed some 1,251 thresher units operating in the province, no report or record of highly efficient rice combines are in use. Again, this signifies the state of, and need for, modern mechanization in the provinces rice industry. Market flow Cotabatos paddy is generally processed in the provinces mills or bought by traders and resold to the neighbouring provinces of Davao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat where these are processed into regular or well milled rice. The resulting rice output of the province and that of Davao del Sur that cannot be absorbed by their local markets find their way to the buyers and

trading centers of Davao City, while that of Sultan Kudarat flow to General Santos City. These have been confirmed by the NFA Provincial Manager and 3 major stakeholders of the rice industry in General Santos City. Likewise, results of buyer visits and interviews during Market Chain Study activities held for small rice farmers under the Sustainable Community Agroenterprise Livelihood for Economic Development (SCALED) Project of Kasilak Development Foundation, Inc. in April and May 2010 pointed to such market flow for the rice of Cotabato.

SOURCES. y y y y y Office of the Provincial Agriculturist Cotabato National Food Authority Cotabato Bureau of Agricultural Statistics National Statistical Coordination Board - National Statistics Office Provincial Planning and Development Office - Cotabato

REFERENCES. Cotabato: Geography and Ethnohistory. The Tuna Country At The Southern Edge Of Mindanao: General Santos City, 1939-2000. Available at www.notredamegensan.org/GSCBK1.PDF. Provincial, City and Municipal Profiles. National Statistical Coordination Board. Available at http://www.nscb.gov.ph/ru12/OVERVIEW/Cot_Prov.htm. NSCB StatWatch. National Statistical Coordination Board. April 20, 2010. Available at http://www.nscb.gov.ph/ru12/swatch/2010/Provincial/SW1_10_Prov.pdf. About Us: Natural Resources. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cotabato. Available at http://www.cotabatoprov.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid= 12 Philippine Standard Geographic Code Interactive: North Cotabato.. March 31, 2010. Available at http://www.nscb.gov.ph/activestats/psgc/province.asp?provcode=124700000&regCode=12&reg Name=REGION+XII+%28Soccsksargen%29.