Western Visayas still top carabao producer
Western Visayas has maintained its position as the country’s “top producer” of carabao in 2009, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board 6.
The Philippine News Agency reported that based on the latest report submitted by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics to the NSCB, in a year time, Western Visayas has improved its carabao production from its 2008 level of 19,923 MT to 20,071 MT, an increase of 0.74 percent.
“This contributed 14.24 percent to total carabao production in the country last year,” said the NSCB.
With the increase in production, Western Visayas has again outranked the other 15 regions in the country in volume of carabao produced in 2009. Since 2007, the region has been the top producer of carabao, dubbed as the “Pambansang Hayop” of the Philippines.
Other regions included as consistent “top-producing” regions following WV in the last three years are: Cagayan Valley with 8.7 percent contribution; SOCCSKSARGEN with 8.6 percent contribution; and Davao Region with 8.4 percent contribution.
On the other hand, the same report showed that Western Visayas is among the top five performing regions in the country in terms of livestock production last year. It ranked third in 2009, producing 203,339 MT livestock.
CALABARZON ranked first with 314, 174 MT livestock produced, Central Luzon, second, with 309,076, Central Visayas, fourth, with 175,462 and Northern Mindanao, fifth, with 169,044 MT.
While Western Visayas excelled in carabao production, Northern Mindanao was best producer of cattle, Central Luzon, hogs and Ilocos Region, goats.