Development of Agribusiness Enterprises - Asian Productivity ...

9. PHILIPPINES
INTRODUCTION
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Nemelita Guevarra Sungcaya
Chief Agriculturist
Agribusiness and Marketing
Assistance Service
Department of Agriculture
Quezon City
The Philippines comprises an archipelago of 7,100 islands. The country is subdivided
into three mainland geographic boundaries: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, with a total land
area of 30,018,000 ha. About one-third of that area, or 10,336,000 ha, is agricultural land,
of which only 1.3 million ha are irrigated farmland. In 1999, the population of the country
was an estimated 74.70 million, with 15.56 percent (11.62 million persons) employed in the
agriculture sector.
AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Philippine Agribusiness Sector
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries form the core of Philippine agribusiness. The sector
also includes those enterprises in the manufacturing sector that are engaged in agro-based
industry, as well as the portion of the service sector that deals with agricultural/agribusiness
activities.
The majority of Philippine agribusinesses are small- and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs). They comprise 99 percent of the total manufacturing establishments, while
contributing 54.9 percent of the employment opportunities and 28.1 percent of value-added
in production.
SMEs can be classified under either of two types: (a) by asset size, excluding land
value; or (b) by number of employees (Tables 1 and 2).
Table 1. Enterprise Classification by Asset Size
Category Asset Size
Micro enterprises P=150,000 and above
Cottage type Above P=150,000 to P=1.5 million
Small enterprises Above P=1.5 million to P=15 million
Medium enterprises Above P=15 million to P=60 million
Large enterprises Above P=60 million
Source: Small and Medium Enterprises Council.
Classifying agribusinesses by asset size is more difficult due to confidentiality/
protectionism. Classification by the number of employees is more transparent.