Agusan del Sur
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Rice |
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Aqua / Tilapia |
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Cacao |
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Boat |
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Abaca |
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Pond Culture |
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Chicken |
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Fish Process / Nursery |
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Cage Culture |
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Banana |
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Hatchery |
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Hand line |
The province of Agusan del Sur is located in the Northeastern Mindanao, bounded on the North by Agusan del Norte, on the South Compostela Valley, on the west Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon and on the east by Surigao del Sur.
The province is landlocked and can be reached only by land transportation through the Davao-Butuan National Highway. Three minor roads also provide access for travelers coming from Tandag, Lianga, Barobo and Bislig City in Surigao del Sur and one road connect the southwestern part of the province with Asuncion, Compostela Valley province. All four roads intersect the national highway at different points.
Although Agusan River is a potential route towards the province, no existing ferry facilities regularly ply from Butuan City or Compostela Valley Province.
The province’s approximate area is 896,550 hectares or 8,965.50 sq. km. It ranks as the fourth largest province in the country. The river municipalities of Loreto, Lapaz, Esperanza, and San Luis are the fourth largest municipalities in the land, comprising almost sixty percent of the province’s total land area. On the other hand, Sta. Josefa and Talacogon, also river towns, have the smallest land area.
The Agusan del Sur population is predominantly composed of immigrants from the Visayas. Intermarriages between immigrants and natives have pulled down the percentage of the lumad stock. Cebuano is the most common language spoken in Agusan del Sur.
The province is subdivided to two (2) district which are composed of fourteen (14) municipalities.The province is dubbed as the rice granary of Caraga Region since it occupies the largest cultivated area. Corn is another major crop in the province followed by oil palm (fresh fruit bunch), banana, coconut (with husk), banana saba and sweet potato or kamote.
Poultry and chicken dominated as the poultry raising activity in the province followed by duck raising. For the livestock sector swine top followed by carabao, goat, cattle, and sheep.Agusan del Sur has vast bodies of freshwater areas where fishes like mudfish, catfish and tilapia can be sourced out. In 2019, the total volume of fisheries production recorded was 993.54 metric tons, where 951.52 metric tons was contributed by inland municipal and 42.02 metric tons by the aquaculture sector.
Fish per capita consumption of the province based on 2015-2016 data of the PSA, revealed that tilapia commodity was the most consumed fish, with an estimated per capita consumption of 1.48 kilograms per year. Meanwhile, other freshwater fishes have less than 1 kg per capita consumption.
The major commodity from aquaculture is tilapia, For capture, the major commodities are tilapia, mudfish (dalag), and catfish. (Provincial Fisheries Office Data 2019)Among the provinces of Caraga, Agusan del Sur displayed a decrease in its poverty incidence among families in 2018 by 6.9%. From 37.5% in 2015, the province is now on 30.6.
This means that in a family of five needs an annual per capita poverty threshold of Php 24,655.00 to reach the basic needs.The Province of Agusan del Sur was also one of the pilot areas in the Caraga region for the implementation of the Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program for the calendar year 2019.
The province is selected based on PSA 2015 data on poverty incidence it is included among the poorest provinces during those years.
Four municipalities in the province were identified based on the criteria set by the program these are Talacogon and San Luis for the first district and Rosario and Veruela for the second district.
Some of the beneficiaries were Manobo’s. The farming techniques used by many of the tribes are primitive. The inefficiency of labor hinders economic growth in their communities. Agricultural development projects are greatly needed to educate them on such things as crop rotation and the use of agricultural technologies. Such training would not only enhance their efforts but also provide open doors for giving them a decent income.
The existence of insurgency in the four municipalities has become a major obstacle for development and the government’s social and livelihood services. Thus, SAAD-Caraga gears up toward the goal of the program to reach the far-flung areas of the province.
There were eight identified group beneficiaries with total three hundred forty-one (341) number of individuals.
In the first year of its implementation, SAAD-Caraga allocated a total of Php 15 million worth of projects for the Agusan del Sur province. Providing opportunities for income-generating activities among poor households is one of the strategies of the program to help rural communities improve their living conditions.
The four (4) municipalities were engaged in Abaca production. Around 276 abaca farmers will improve their production of abaca through the farm machinery support provided by the said program. Aside from the planting materials and fertilizers, technical assistance was provided by DA-Caraga in coordination with the DA-PhilFIDA this is to empower the abaca farmers for a long-term goal.
Abaca production is common to 4 identified municipalities namely San Luis, Talacogon, Veruela and Rosario, two (2) of the mentioned municipalities such as Talacogon and Rosario are engaged into cacao production, while municipality of Rosario is into rice production. San Luis shared a highest cost of 47.56% of the total projects cost implemented, also top in the number of individuals benefitted and followed by Talacogon in terms of project cost.
The recipients also underwent training to establish and enhance abaca farms through the introduction of better farm management practices. The same with the intervention for the rice and cacao production.
Table 5 shows the actual cost of the projects implemented in province of Agusan del Sur.
| ROSARIO | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Rice Production | Novele | OCAO Farmers Association (OFA) | 30 | 213,182.50 |
| Cacao Production | Bayugan 3 | BuenaswerteCosep Farmers Association | 10 | 293,617.50 |
| Abaca Production | Cosep People Organization (COPO) | 25 | 1,213,993.75 | |
| TOTAL | 65 | 1,720,793.75 | ||
| SAN LUIS | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Abaca Production | Cecilia | Cecilia Abaca Corn Planters Association (CEAFCOFA) | 100 | 3,466,111.49 |
| Muritula | Muritula USAD Farmer Association (MUFA) | 60 | 2,411,412.50 | |
| TOTAL | 160 | 5,877,523.99 | ||
| TALACOGON | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Cacao Production | Desamparados | Desamparados SAAD Cacao Farmers Association (DeSACFA) | 25 | 896,993.75 |
| Abaca Production | Culiram | Culiram SAAD Abaca Farmers Association (CuSAFA) | 41 | 1,798,048.75 |
| TOTAL | 66 | 2,695.042.50 | ||
| VERUELA | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Abaca Production | Caigangan | Caigangan Abaca Farmers Association | 50 | 2,027,887,50 |
| TOTAL | 50 | 2,027,887.50 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 341 | 12,321,247.74 | ||
| ROSARIO | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Rice Production | Brgy Novele | OCAO Farmers Association (OFA) | 30 | 677,789.71 |
| Cacao Production | Sitio Buenaswerte Cosep, Bayugan 3 | Buenaswerte Cosep Farmers Association | 10 | 266,625.35 |
| Cacao Production-Expansion | Brgy Bayugan 3 | Masabong Sinayugan Farmers Association | 20 | 872,437.34 |
| Abaca Production-Existing | Cosep People’s Organization (COPO) | 40 | 797,767.13 | |
| Abaca Production-Expansion | 815,738.03 | |||
| Native Chicken Production | 717,786.90 | |||
| TOTAL | 100 | 4,148,144,46 | ||
| SAN LUIS | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Abaca Production-Existing | Brgy Muritula | Muritula USAD Farmers Association (MUFA) | 80 | 1,592,415.05 |
| Abaca Production-Expansion | 1,154,653.50 | |||
| Abaca Production-Existing | Brgy Cecelia | Cecilia Abaca Corn Planters Association (CEABCOFA) | 100 | 1,598,056.05 |
| Native Chicken Production | 830,966.90 | |||
| TOTAL | 180 | 5,176,091.50 | ||
| TALACOGON | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Cacao Production-Existing | Brgy Desamparados | Desamparados SAAD Cacao Farmers Association (DeSACFA) | 45 | 508,203.74 |
| Cacao Production-Expansion | 901,578.42 | |||
| Abaca Production-Existing | Brgy Culiram | Culiram SAAD Abaca Farmers Association (CuSAFA) | 66 | 1,372,510.10 |
| Abaca Production-Expansion | 1,192,622.52 | |||
| TOTAL | 111 | 3,974,914.78 | ||
| VERUELA | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Abaca Production Existing | Caigangan | Caigangan Abaca Farmers Association | 50 | 1,500,837.60 |
| Cacao Production | Brgy Candiis | Candiis Cacao Farmers Association | 35 | 1,157,382.23 |
| Native Chicken Production | 873,916.90 | |||
| TOTAL | 85 | 3,532,136.73 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 867 | 30,130,438.21 | ||
| ROSARIO | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Rice Production | Brgy Novele | OCAO Farmers Association (OFA) | 30 | 494,510.00 |
| Cacao Production | Sitio Buenaswerte Cosep, Bayugan 3 | Buenaswerte Cosep Farmers Association | 10 | 432,520.00 |
| P10 Brgy Bayugan 3 | Masabong Sinayugan Farmers Association | 20 | 1,725,306.18 | |
| Integrated Abaca and Native Chicken Production | Cosep Bayugan 3 | Cosep People’s Organization (COPO) | 40 | 2,281,776.50 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 4,934,112.68 | ||
| SAN LUIS | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Abaca Production and Establishment of Abaca Nursery | Brgy Muritula | Muritula USAD Farmers Association (MUFA) | 80 | 2,214,495.50 |
| Integrated Abaca and Native Chicken Production and Establishment of Abaca Nursery | Brgy Cecelia | Cecilia Abaca Corn Planters Association (CeAbCoPA) | 100 | 2,970,473.50 |
| TOTAL | 180 | 5,184,969.00 | ||
| TALACOGON | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Cacao Production | Brgy Desamparados | Desamparados SAAD Cacao Farmers Association (DeSACFA) | 45 | 2.793.706.18 |
| Abaca Production | Brgy Culiram | Culiram SAAD Abaca Farmers Association (CuSAFA) | 66 | 996,677.50 |
| TOTAL | 111 | 3,790,383.68 | ||
| VERUELA | ||||
| Project Title | Barangay/s | Farmers Association | Number of beneficiaries | Amount (Php) |
| Integrated Abaca and Native Chicken Production | Caigangan | Caigangan Abaca Farmers Association | 50 | 1,741.268.00 |
| Integrated Cacao, Banana and Native Chicken Production | Candiis | Candiis SAAD Farmers Association (CASFA) | 55 | 3,436,882.00 |
| TOTAL | 105 | 5,178,150.00 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 496 | 19,087,615.36 | ||