MANILA, Philippines — The production of the country’s major vegetables and root crops expanded in the fourth quarter of 2019 due to favorable weather, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Among the country’s top vegetable and root crops are mongo, peanut, cabbage, eggplant, tomato, sweet potato and cassava.
In its latest quarterly bulletin, PSA said cassava production grew 0.6 percent to 773,150 metric tons (MT) due to higher demand and good price. Bigger tubers were harvested because of sufficient rainfall during root formation.
ARMM was the top producing region in the country, accounting for 61 percent of the national cassava output during the period.
Production of sweet potato increased by 0.6 percent to 128,610 MT amid increased area planted due to good soil moisture. Bigger tubers were harvested due to the availability of good quality planting materials and good weather conditions.
Central Visayas, the top producing region during the quarter, accounted for 13 percent of the total output.
Cabbage production increased to 58,770 MT as bigger heads were harvested due to sufficient rainfall during head formation as well as non-occurrence of destructive typhoons in most areas.
Eggplant output was up by 1.4 percent to 24, 570 MT due to the expansion of hectarage and the seeds distributed by the Department of Agriculture’s regional field office.
Production of peanut likewise improved by 1.1 percent to 5,090 MT as more pods were developed due to sufficient soil moisture.
There was an increase in the area planted due to temporary shifting from white corn production to peanut production to regain soil fertility.
On the other hand, tomato production declined by 0.6 percent to 28,130 MT amid the shifting of some areas to pineapple production due to soil borne disease.
Smaller sizes of fruits were also harvested due to insufficient rainfall during the growing stage.
Northern Mindanao recorded the biggest production with a 57 percent share of the total output.
Mongo production declined by 0.3 percent to 3,120 MT due to reduction in area planted.
Some areas were still utilized for palay production, while other areas were shifted to okra production due to the demand for exports.
Lesser pods were also harvested due to the effects of intense heat during the flowering stage.
Top mongo producer was ARMM, accounting for 54 percent of the country’s total production.
Davao Region followed next with 11 percent, and Central Visayas with nine percent.