The Philippines In The Philippines In The Philippines

Under National Agro-Food Policy, agriculture sector has been identified as a National Key Result Area. Under this initiative, the agriculture sector is targeted to increase the Gross National Income by RM28.9 Billion (USD9.1 billion) to reach RM49.1 billion (USD15.4 billion) by 2020. The agricultural sector is also targeted to create more than 109,000 job opportunities by 2020, primarily in the rural areas.

Times have changed, and so has the family, the community and our environment. And these changes have impacted our lives and earth immeasurably. This is where the factor greed comes in to play, the need for more. This need for more called for extensive measures, measures like fertilizers, pesticides and equipment to work the ground and harvest the crops became necessity. Agriculture became a booming business that did not and still does not promote the well-being of the employee nor the individual let alone the family unit and community. Since 1950 an average farm size has doubled, but the number of laborers decreased substantially and the number of small local farmers has been cut in half. Farmers have been forced to become more efficient and there 's been a reliance on greater chemicals and technology, which has become very extensive and expensive. Sadly, what has been short term expansion has become a long-term threat (Trautmann, 2012). This greed driven increase has led to subtle damaging ramifications that most people are ignorant to. Their needs are being met as quality is being forsaken. Our environment is being squandered. Selfishness abounds.

Wheat and sugarcane are the leading crops, followed by barley, oats, rice, potatoes, cotton, sunflower seeds, and tomatoes. Fruits include grapes, primarily for wine, and oranges, apples, pineapples, and bananas.

The main industry is the agricultural sector which completely depends on the climate. There are strong linkages between poverty and environmental degradation, particularly poor water management, soil erosion, declining soil fertility and land degradation. In addition, the effects of climate change are undermining an already fragile resource base and have contributed to declining agricultural yields over the past decades. In recent years, drought has become a perennial problem in parts of Kenya. Episodes in 2009 and 2011 generated food emergencies, while flooding in 2010 affected parts of the country severely.

Over 1,000 people dead in the Spanish-American War, and the United States with a victory to brag about, the Philippine Islands are finally freed from Spain. Directly after the United States won the Spanish-American War, the Philippines were up for grabs and desired by many. Spain treated the Philippines badly, and did not give them enough freedoms. After the big win of the war, the “United States suddenly became a major world power” (Should the United States... 141). America did not know what to do with the Philippine Islands. They had two choices; annex or not annex. Should the Philippines have been added to the United States? The United States should annex the Philippines because, if not it would be cowardly,

The plantation was the center of the agriculture life. Large-scale agriculture is still important as many countries rely on these products as they put large strain on export –oriented growth. Only recently has there been any significant attempts at industrialization and many countries are economically backward.

Added to the financial risk of farming, already gambling on soil and weather and crops.

Each country has its main export. Main exports of this region include bananas, tropical fruits, rice, coffee, corn, and sugarcane.

The economy of the Ivory Coast functions primarily on agricultural exports, representing nearly a third of the gross domestic product. The primary exports of the nation are cocoa beans, coffee, cotton, palm oil, and bananas. The economy is currently severely threatened by the violent state of the nation, which discourages foreign traders thereby limiting exportation. An additional 20% of the GDP is comprised by industrial services, including food and beverage manufacturing, wood products, oil refining, automotive assembly, and textile production. The labor force accounts for the remainder of the economy, with over 60% of the population providing physical labor to support the large agricultural industries.

According to Evenson the top three threats are, “increase in competition in the international market; the growing competition with other economic activities that increases the cost of production, especially the labor cost; and degradation of ecological conditions. Rice production around the world has become more competitive. This makes it harder for Thailand to keep its competitive advantage with its Jasmine rice. As for the modernization of the nation, it has lead to an increase cost of labor. This makes it more expensive for rice farmers that used to use cheap manual labor. Finally the massive amount of land used for the production of rice may have long term negative affects on the yields of the land. (Evenson)

     America is considered a melting pot of different ethnic groups. By today’s standard, “American culture” is the result of a variety of races integrating their own cultural beliefs into American society. Throughout the years, the United States has seen a massive increase of people migrating from Asian countries; “they make up 3.6 percent of the U.S. population, a 199 percent increase from 1980 when they constituted only 1.5 percent of the population” (Ng). Like other immigrants, Asians come here in order to seek a better life and experience civil liberties. According to statistics, “Filipino Americans today make up the second largest Asian Pacific American (APA) group in the country” (Aquino). Filipinos alongside

Introduction Although many still think of the Philippines as an agricultural economy, strictly speaking, it is not. Agriculture, fishery and forestry directly account for just one-fifth (20 percent) of the economy’s aggregate domestic output (GDP). Ever since the 1960s, the direct share of agriculture in the GDP had fallen below one-third, and by 1981, the sector’s share had decreased to only 23 percent. Growth from this level was rather anemic, averaging 1.7 percent per annum during the period 1981-2003, compared to the average overall GDP growth of 2.6% over the same period. While agriculture output was largely

      Due to the effects of urbanization and industry, the amount of land available for agriculture is rapidly reducing. Of the total land area of 792,607 hectares for Negros Occidental (the Philippines) the Alienable and Disposable (A & D) areas covers 68.17 percent 0r 540,350.13 hectares. Classified Forest Land occupies 31.83 percent ( 252,256.53 hectares). Cropland makes up most of which is considered Alienable and Disposable. This includes the residential, commercial and institutional areas as well as agricultural lands. Fish ponds are also found in this area occupying an area of 9,333.14 hectares. Zoning and land use plans have been put into place to regulate the development of communities ensuring that the distribution of land is properly allocated so that it is not in incompatible use. Despite these measures, many farmers are very poor. The average size of an individual farm in the Philippines is 1.5. hectares. Small farms can only produce enough for subsistence purposes.

Poultry farming or livestock is included in the sector of agriculture. It is important because it serves as a food source for many people. Chicken is considered a necessity good and also the second produced meat next to pork. This is because of the changing preferences of the people. Filipinos are considered to be more in pork than chicken. Fast food in the Philippines is increasing and mostly served in the restaurants, making it to have a high demand to consumers.

As the population grows, cities are constructed along rivers and other waterways, and the sources are modified to meet urban needs rather than ecological. More and more food needs to be grown to nourish people. Now, land is degrading and sea levels are rising, making growing impossible in many former farming areas. Because of this, "... 800 million people are chronically malnourished, and 2 billion lack food security" (Dahl, 603). Because agriculture for the masses depends heavily on irrigation, it puts additional strain on the globe's water tables (Dahl, 602). Not to mention that current water sources are being polluted by sewer discharge and industrial waste. Deforestation is another issue. Forests and other natural vegetation help protect against flooding and soil erosion. In the 1990s, 563,709 square miles of land were cleared of forests (Dahl, 602). Without these forests, global warming has been accelerated as more carbon is released into the atmosphere, rather than being consumed as fuel by plants and released as oxygen. For example, in India and Sri Lanka, a tsunami, unhindered by the mangroves that used to grow there, destroyed