AGRICULTURE and
AGRI-BUSINESS
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL!
The Agribusiness sector of the Province of Negros Occidental is one of the main drivers of the province’s economy. Negros Occidental has always been known for its dominant role in the sugar industry and its emergence in organic farming. With over half of its land dedicated to agriculture, the province is a major producer of various crops, livestock, and fishery products. Negros Occidental, for the longest time, has built its economy from sugar, contributing more than half of the country’s total sugar production (PCIP 2017-2022). Based on DENR’s vegetative land area cover, Negros Occidental’s production area is estimated at 501,838.03 hectares as declared in the 2023-2028 Negros Occidental Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP). Production lands are categorized into croplands, fishponds, agro-forestry, and production forests. Croplands are mainly utilized for the production of sugarcane, rice, corn, coconut, and other food crops. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) declared that the fishpond area of Negros Occidental totals 12,339 hectares, 3,573.609 hectares under Fishpond Lease Agreement.
Sector Overview
Agriculture, forestry and fisheries shared 25% in the economy of Negros Occidental and contributed 1.1% in the Gross Provincial Domestic Product (GPDP) according to the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP) for 2023-2028. Prior to the creation of the Negros Island Region, Negros Occidental has been the top producer in the agriculture industry for Western Visayas, 33.8% share for Region 6 in 2021.
The Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) of Negros Occidental, a 3-year rolling plan based on the value chain analysis (VCA) of the commodities conducted with strong participation from various stakeholders in the chain. The document rationalizes the interventions within the various segments of the value chain commodities. It is one of the requirements of the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP), a six-year program that aims to develop an inclusive, market oriented, climate-resilient agri-fishery sector by strategically investing in priority value chains. PRDP works with the private and local government sector in developing rural enterprises and in providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology and information that will raise incomes, productivity and competitiveness in the countryside.
Identifying the commodities all starts with the approval of VCAs that is prepared by the Regional Project Coordinating Office and the I-PLAN Component. Priority commodities are ranked according to the Commodity Prioritization Tool provided by PRDP as a guide. A No Objection Letter (NOL) for the VCAs will then be provided by the National Project Coordinating Office (NPCO) and that will signal the start of the formulation of the PCIP.
PRIORITY COMMODITIES - CROPS
The Philippine coffee sector is vital to agriculture, though it relies on only four commercially viable species; Robusta dominates national output (76%) driven by high domestic demand (instant coffee accounts for 90% of consumption). While national production is increasing, led by SOCCSKSARGEN (31,979 MT in 2024), Western Visayas (including Negros Occidental) is declining (1,943 MT in 2021 to 1,235 MT in 2024), yet Negros Occidental presents a major expansion opportunity with 1,855 ha of suitable, unutilized land. Of the estimated 75 million bearing coffee trees nationally, major concentrations are in SOCCSKSARGEN (25%), Davao (16.8%), and CALABARZON (13.7%); Western Visayas holds 7.8%, with Negros Occidental’s production concentrated in La Castellana (518.6 ha, 10.37 MT yield), Sipalay (460.5 ha, 9.21 MT), and Murcia (294 ha, 5.88 MT), which account for the majority of the provincial output. Current trends show growing demand for specialty and sustainable coffee, supported by the Philippine Coffee Industry Roadmap (2021–2025) and increasing interest in agroforestry. Challenges include declining yields, aging trees, limited highquality planting materials, fragmented supply chains, low mechanization, and underutilized farmlands. However, opportunities exist in farm expansion and rehabilitation, increasing yields from 0.8 kg to 2 kg per tree to reduce import dependence, targeting large-scale expansion in Mindanao (SOCCSKSARGEN and Davao), and developing niche specialty coffee and eco-tourism in Negros Occidental, while strengthening farmer cooperatives and quality systems. Ultimately, the Philippine coffee sector, especially in Negros Occidental, has significant untapped potential, requiring strategic investment in productivity, sustainability, and quality to elevate the country’s position in the ASEAN market by 2026.
The coconut industry is a key contributor to the Philippine economy, covering 69 provinces and supporting about 3.6 million farmers across 3.2 million hectares. National production reached 14.93 million metric tons in 2022, sustaining industries like coconut oil and copra. The Philippines is a key global supplier, ranking second only to Indonesia in overall production, with consistent growth demonstrated by an increase from 14.72 MMT in 2021 to
14.93 MMT in 2022. In Negros Occidental, 2024 data shows 26,441 farmers
cultivating 52,198 hectares with over 5.2 million trees, yielding approximately 56 nuts per tree annually. Regionally, Mindanao remains the top producer, but the newly reporting Negros Island Region (NIR)
contributed 284,373.36 MT in 2024, with Negros Occidental as the main
producer, holding 43,900 hectares of the NIR’s 94,780.10 hectares. Top coconut-producing municipalities in Negros Occidental by value in 2024 were Calatrava (P50.03 million), Cadiz (P25.54 million), and Hinoba-an (P19.21 million). Strategic programs under the PCA’s 2022-2026 plan focus on initiatives like Organic Farm Development, Seed Farm Development (a
12-ha site in Bago City for high-yield varieties), establishing Coconut Hubs in
Hinoba-an and Sagay, promoting intercropping, and research partnerships. The market demand is strong, with major exports in 2022 including Crude Coconut Oil (USD 1.37B), Desiccated Coconut (USD
369.97M), RBD Oil (USD 339.90M), Cochin Oil (USD.
Despite being rich in Sardinella lemuru from the Visayan Sea and Panay Gulf (with 2023-2024 catches at 945 MT and 710 MT, respectively), Negros Occidental currently lacks a local sardine canning facility and imports all canned sardines, prompting the Provincial Government (PGNO) to propose
establishing one to enhance food security, employment, and fisherfolk income. The local fishing peaks occur from March to October (Visayan Sea) and January to May (Panay Gulf), though declines are observed during
closed seasons. Driven by population growth and convenience, national canned sardine consumption is high (1.92 billion cans annually), with projected annual demand in Negros Occidental reaching 88.5 million cans
by 2024. The PGNO’s own procurement for calamity packs peaked at 226,300 cans in 2020. The proposed facility, planned to produce 155g Canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce, is designed for a capacity of 1
ton/hour, yielding an annual output of 10,560,000 cans over a four-month
operating period. With a total project cost of P192,440,096.95 (75.61%)
funded by the Department of Agriculture), the facility is projected to generate P274.56 million in annual sales, showing a strong financial viability with a Year 1 Return on Investment (ROI) of 30.4% and a break-even point of 1,828,413 cans. Key opportunities include reducing dependence on
external suppliers, strengthening local food security, and supporting disaster
preparedness, while the main challenges involve seasonal fish availability, the need for proper fishing equipment, and rising production costs. Overall, the project is considered financially viable and strategically aligned with the province’s goal of developing a self-sufficient and competitive sardine
industry.
OTHER BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Foreign direct investments (FDI) are promoted by the Philippine Board of Investment (BOI), a government agency under the Department of Trade and Investment (DTI). BOI actively supports investors, offering one-stop-shop services, including advisory, implementation, and aftercare. They provide sector information and local and international partner search and business missions. All information regarding governmental incentives, such as tax holidays, and duty exemptions can be found on their website or via BOI’s advisors.
Negros Occidental’s economy has been built around agricultural commodities – usually small-scale farmers or fishermen and their families producing the crops. Technology innovations can play a key role in
transforming these peoples’ everyday life, with improvements across the entire value chain. In the last few years, many IT-solutions and other highend technologies became available for even the smaller farmers and fishermen, for example, the development of an unmanned ground vehicle
drone-aided system with vis-NIR sensors for soil nutrient mapping of coffee farms. In the post-harvest value chain, integration of mobile communications technology with real-time computer and cloud-based data gives farmers information on the market demand and connects them directly with consumers for better price information.
The Philippines, in general, is one of the largest consumer markets in the ASEAN region, with Metro Manila being the largest metropolitan region, making it an attractive target destination. Negros Occidental, with majority of the registered businesses in the Wholesale and Retail Trade (52.16%) in 2022 indicates how big of a consumer market the province is. Still, there are many challenges for producers and traders of agri-food products, including:
- Poor Farm-to-Market Roads (FMR);
- Inadequate pre and post harvesting facilities;
- Limited access to domestic and export markets;
- Negative impacts of climate change;
- Harsh competition or weak coordination/linkage among key players;
- Trade regulations, especially non-tariff barriers are proving to be a burden for the exporters;
- Weak access to financing;
- Insufficient/lack of resources to conduct market intelligence, Research & Development, and innovations particularly among micro and small enterprises;
- Insufficient laboratories in the country and expensive testing procedures outside the Philippines and for certain standards.
The majority of farmers and fisherfolks in Negros Occidental either have small landholdings, smaller than two hectares, or are small fishermen. They are most susceptible to climate and weather change, information asymmetry, due to the non-availability of technical knowledge centres, and may suffer from lack of market linkages, due to land fragmentation and less developed waterways. The most important ways of development for these sectors are:
- Innovation and technological adaptation;
- Climate change in the short- and long-term will force adaptation upon farmers, requiring new varieties of crops, new skills to be developed in everyday practices;
- Construction of more FMR and development in local logistics where local farmers should be able to send their products through new logistic channels;
- Foreign investors should be welcomed, as long as they bring new technologies and market access in.
