Volume of Corn Production decreases by 0.1 percent

The volume of corn production in Sarangani Province estimated at 160,034.02 metric tons in 2024 posted a slight decrease of 0.1 percent from its level of 160,159.09 metric tons in 2023. Decrease in corn production was observed in yellow corn by 0.6 percent, from 83,614.63 metric tons in 2023 to 83,080.08 metric tons in 2024. Meanwhile, white corn production went up by 0.5 percent, from 76,544.46 metric tons in 2023 to 76,953.94 metric tons in 2024. (Table A and Figure 1)

In terms of contribution to the total volume of corn production, yellow corn contributed 51.9 percent share, higher than white corn with 48.1 percent share in 2024. (Figure 2)

Area harvested reduces by 10.6 percent

The total area harvested in Sarangani Province recorded a decrease of 10.6 percent or 56,056.92 hectares in 2024 from the 62,718.09 hectares in 2023. This was attributed to the decrease in area harvested for white corn by 11.2 percent, from 35,326.40 hectares to 31,382.96 hectares. Also, area harvested for yellow corn decreased by 9.9 percent, from 27,391.69 hectares to 24,673.96 hectares. (Table B and Figure 3)
 

Yield per hectare increases by 11.8 percent

The corn yield per hectare in Sarangani Province increased by 11.8 percent, from 2.55 metric tons in 2023 to 2.85 metric tons in 2024. White corn posted 12.9 percent increase, from 2.17 metric tons in 2023 to 2.45 metric tons in 2024. Also, an increase in yield per hectare was observed in yellow corn at 10.5 percent, from 3.05 metric tons in 2023 to 3.37 metric tons in 2024. (Table C and Figure 4)

Technical Notes

The Corn Production Survey (CPS) is one of the major agricultural surveys conducted quarterly by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This generates estimates on corn production, area, yield, and other production-related data that serve as inputs for policy making and programs on corn. Specifically, the production data generated from the survey are direct inputs to the Value of Production in Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries and accordingly to the computation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Corn - is a plant that grows long ears of kernels on tall, grass-like stalks. Many large farms grow fields of corn each year, for human or animals to eat, or to make corn-based products.

Agricultural Operator - this refers to a person who takes the technical, financial, and administrative responsibility in managing the farm, including the management and supervision of hired labor. He may work on the land himself or may employ others to work on the land. He may or may not be the owner of the land.

Farming Households - this denotes any household in which a member operates an agricultural land, either solely or jointly with other members, regardless of the aggregate area operated by the operator-members of such household.

Caretaker - this is a person being paid a salary or wage, sometimes plus a commission, by private individuals to operate the holding or be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the farm.

Agricultural Land - this refers to the land devoted to or suitable for the cultivation of the soil, planting of crops, growing of trees, raising of livestock, poultry, fish or aquaculture production, including the harvesting of such farm products, and other farm activities and practices performed in conjunction with such farming operations by persons whether natural or juridical and not classified by law as mineral land, forest land, residential land, commercial land, and industrial land.

Parcel - this refers to one contiguous piece of land under one form of tenure without regard to land use. Both the continuity and one form of tenure conditions should be met for a piece of land classified as one parcel.  Contiguous means that the piece of land is not separated by natural or man-made boundaries such as river, dike, and road that are not part of the holding. A parcel may be surrounded by other lands, water, road, forest, or other features that are not part of the holding or part of the holding under different land tenure. A parcel may consist of one or more fields or plots adjacent to each other.

Land Temporarily in-follow - these are lands which are allowed to stay idle for a period of at least one year or at most five years to recover its fertility, after which period it is again planted to temporary crops.

Crop Production - this refers to quantity produced and harvested during the reference period. It includes those harvested but damaged, stolen, given away, consumed, given as harvesters’ and threshers’ shares, reserved, etc. Corn production from seed growers which are intended for seed purposes is excluded from the survey.

Farm - a parcel or parcels of land which has a total area of at least 1,000 squares meters (one-tenth of a hectare) used for agricultural purposes.

Total Corn Area - is the total physical area of the corn farm operated by the sample household within the province and those located in other parts of the country.

Area Harvested - this refers to the total area harvested during the reference period.

Yield - an indicator of productivity derived by dividing the total production by the area harvested.