Number of Farms, and Total and Average Area of Farms 
 

        The 2022 Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) recorded a total of 484, 125 farms in operation in Davao Region during the period of 01 January to 31 December 2022. Farms in operation include those with a crop farm and/or a livestock and poultry operation as reported by the agricultural operators. 

        Historically, the results of CAF from 1960 to 2022 show a consistent increase in the number of farms, based on reports from agricultural operators for each census reference period. However, despite the growing number of farms, the total area of agricultural farms has steadily decreased since 1991, falling from 795,893 hectares in 1991 to 496, 770 hectares in 2022. The total farm area in 2022, at 496, 770 hectares, is significantly lower than the peak of 795,893 hectares in 1991, reflecting a reduction of 37.6 percent. Even when compared to earlier years such as 1980 (746,727 hectares) and 1971 (551,413 hectares), the total farm area in 2022 remains substantially smaller. (Figure 1, Table A, and Annex 1) 

        Over the span of six decades, the average farm size in Davao Region has significantly declined from 5.00 hectares in 1960 to 1.03 hectares in 2022, reflecting a 79.4 percent decrease. This significant reduction in average farm size becomes particularly clear when compared to 2012 (1.70 hectares) and 2002 (2.50 hectares). (Figure 2, Table A, and Annex 1) 

        Across provinces, Davao del Sur reported the highest number of farms in 2022, with 128,841 farms covering a total area of 68, 767 hectares. It was followed by Davao de Oro, which had 92,639 farms spanning 137,281 hectares. Davao del Norte reported 79,701 farms, covering 86,766 hectares. Meanwhile, Davao Oriental recorded the least number of farms, with only 56,043 farms and an area of 93,244 hectares. 

        The top three provinces with the highest farm area were Davao de Oro (137,281 hectares), Davao Oriental (93,244hectares), and Davao del Norte (86,766 hectares). (Annex 1) 
 

        In terms of the average area of farms, Davao Oriental reported the largest average area of farm (1.66 hectares per farm) in 2022. Two more provinces reported an average farm area of more than one hectare. These were Davao de Oro (1.48 hectares per farm) and Davao del Norte (1.09 hectares per farm). Davao del Sur had the smallest average area of farms with only 0.53 hectares per farm. (Annex 1) 

Number of Farms by Legal Status of the Operator 
 

        Between 2012 and 2022, the total number of farms in Davao Region grew by 43.1 percent, with individual or single proprietorships making up the majority (99.8 percent) and increasing by 44.0 percent over the past 10 years. However, partnerships or those jointly operated farms declined significantly by 67.4 percent. Other legal status, which includes Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), cooperatives, and corporation also declined by 51.7 percent. (Table B and Annex 2)

Number and Area of Farms by Size of Farm 
 

        In 2022, 98.4 percent of total farms in the region had sizes of less than seven hectares. Among these, 53.2 percent (257,680 farms) had sizes of less than 0.5 hectares and 28.6 percent (138,490 farms) had a size between 1.00 to 2.99 hectares. Moreover, about 8.8 percent (42,528 farms) and 7.8 percent (37,586 farms) had farm sizes between 0.5 to 0.99 hectares and between 3.0 to 6.99 hectares, respectively. The remaining 1.6 percent of farms were categorized as large farms with sizes exceeding seven hectares, totaling 116,818 hectares. (Figure 3 and Annex 3) 

Number of Farms by Number of Farm Parcels and Main Land Use 
 

        Of the 484,145 farms recorded in 2022, single-parcel farms accounted for about 95.1 percent of the total farms. The share of single-parcel farms to the total number of farms increased by around 9.6 percentage points from 2012. Meanwhile, the share of two­ parcel farms to the total number of farms decreased from 11. 7 percent in 2012 to 3.9 percent in 2022 which totaled to 19,033 farms. Other multi-parcel farms accounted for less than one percent. (Table C) 

        The 484, 125 farms were reported to be composed of 512, 716 parcels. A parcel is one contiguous piece of land under one form of tenure without regard to land use. Among these parcels, more than two-fifth (224, 123 parcels) covering a total of 348,728.5 hectares were used for growing permanent crops. Additionally, over one-fifth (113,607 parcels) were homelots utilized for agricultural operations such as backyard livestock/poultry raising, vegetable gardening, etc., covering 1,889.1 hectares. Meanwhile, 13.8 percent of all parcels (70,700 parcels) were dedicated to temporary crops, covering 57,684.6 hectares. (Table D and Annex 4) 

Number of Farm Parcels by Tenure Status 
 

        Over one in every three farm parcels (178,462 parcels) were in owner-like possession of the operators, while about one in every three farm parcels were operated in full ownership (166,106 parcels). Meanwhile 12.3 percent of farm parcels were rent-free (62,865 parcels), and 8.4 percent were tenanted (43, 160 parcels). (Figure 4 and Annex 5) 
 

        From 2012 to 2022, farm parcels operated in rent-free and owner-like possession posted notable increases of 75.4 percent and 74.5 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the number of fully owned parcels declined significantly by 34.0 percent. (Figure 4 and Annex 5) 
 

        Most of the farm parcels in Davao del Norte (26,073 parcels), Davao Oriental (20,653 parcels), Davao de Oro (43,607 parcels), Davao Occidental (22,400 parcels), and City of Davao (25,345 parcels) were in owner-like possession of the farm operators while most of the farm parcels in Davao del Sur (53,095 parcels) were fully owned. (Annex 5) 

        The results are based on the 2022 CAF conducted among households and non­household entities that operated agriculture activities from 01 January to 31 December 2022. Household interviews for the 2022 GAF were conducted in September to November 2023, while non-household interviews were conducted in May to July 2023

APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 
 

RANDOLPH ANTHONY B. GALES 
(Chief Statistical Specialist)
Officer-In-Charge 
Regional Statistical Services Office 11 

TECHNICAL NOTES
 

Introduction

    The Census of Agriculture and Fisheries (CAF) is a large-scale government undertaking, geared towards the collection and compilation of basic information on the agriculture and fishery sectors in the Philippines. Over the years, the CAF has been a source of comprehensive statistics on agriculture for the use of the general public, government, business industry, research and academic institutions.

    The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted the 2022 CAF among households and non-household entities that operated agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing activities from 01 January to 31 December 2022. Household and barangay interviews for the 2022 CAF were conducted in September 2023, while non-household interviews were conducted in May 2023.

    The 2022 CAF was the seventh in a series of decennial agricultural census and the sixth in the decennial census of fisheries in the country since the first census in 1903. It was designed to collect the structural characteristics of the agricultural and fishery sectors in the country.

    The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC), as of December 2022 was used to disaggregate geographic levels of the 2022 CAF.

Data Limitation

    The statistics presented in this report were based on the information provided by the respondent or any responsible household member who may provide accurate answers to the questions and give correct information about the agricultural activities operated during the reference period.

    Likewise, the statistics presented are based on responses from all households in 16,020 sample barangays in the country, which represent about 38 percent of the 42,046 total barangays in the country as of December 2022.

    The data referring to agricultural holdings/farms in this report were tabulated according to the agricultural holder’s/operator’s residence, while data referring to holding/farm parcels were tabulated according to their geographic location.

Reference Period

    All households in the sample barangay were listed and interviewed to determine the presence of household members who were operators – those who managed or operated crops, livestock/poultry and/or insects/worms, aquaculture, and/or fishing activity – during the period 01 January to 31 December 2022. The identified operators were interviewed to collect data on the basic characteristics of their agricultural, aquaculture, and/or fishing activities using the Core Questionnaires. The reference period for household characteristics and inventory of livestock and poultry is 01 September 2023.

    Likewise, all non-household entities with crop farm, livestock and poultry farm (including culturing of insects/worms), aquaculture operation, and fishing operation during the reference period 01 January to 31 December 2022 and have an economic value were also covered in 2022 CAF, which was a rider to the 2023 Updating of the List of Establishments (2023 ULE). They were asked to accomplish the 2022 CAF non-household questionnaires to collect data on the details of their agricultural, aquaculture, and fishing activities. These include the farm and fisheries operations for commercial, personal consumption, and research purposes.

    Moreover, for barangay interviews, the Punong Barangay or acting Punong Barangays or any incumbent barangay official was interviewed to gather information on the presence/availability of facilities, input dealers, and service providers related to agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries in all barangays (including non-sample barangays).

Definition of Terms and Concepts
 

Household - A household is a social unit consisting of a person living alone or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have a common arrangement in the preparation and consumption of food.

Agricultural Operator - An agricultural holder/operator is a civil or juridical person who/that exercises management control over the agricultural operation of a holding/farm and takes major decisions regarding resource use. He/she has technical and economic responsibility for the farm and may undertake all responsibilities directly, that is, he/she operates the agricultural farm or delegates responsibilities related to day-to-day work management to a hired manager. Economic responsibility means making major decisions in using the finances in operating the farm.
 

An agricultural operator could be the owner or tenant/lessee of the farm who is solely responsible for making the major decisions of the operation of the agricultural farm, including the management and supervision of hired labor. 
 

Meanwhile, a person hired to supervise the day-to-day activities on the farm owned by another household or by a non-household is NOT a CROP FARM OPERATOR for the 2022 CAF. He/she is called a hired manager.

Agricultural Holding/Farm - An agricultural holding/farm is any piece or pieces of land used wholly or partly for any agricultural activity such as growing of crops, tending of livestock/poultry and other agricultural activities and operated as one technical unit by one person alone or with others regardless of title, legal form, size or location. An agricultural holding/farm operated as one technical unit means that the piece/s of land is/are operated under single management and that the financial resources needed for the operation of the agricultural holding/farm come from the said management. Generally, an agricultural holding/farm operated as one technical unit has the same factors of production such as land, labor, farm structures, machinery, work animals, etc. Single management means one individual or household or jointly by two or more individuals or households or by a juridical person such as a corporation, cooperative or government agency operates and manages the agricultural holding/farm.
 

The characteristics of all holding/farms reported by agricultural operators were collected, regardless of the size of the agricultural farm.
 

Parcel - A parcel is one contiguous piece of land under one form of tenure without regard to land use. Both the contiguity and one form of tenure conditions should be met for a piece of land to be classified as one parcel.
 

“Contiguous” means that the piece of land is not separated by natural or manmade boundaries. A parcel may be surrounded by other lands, water, road, forest or other features that are not part of the farm under different land tenure.
 

Examples of natural boundaries are river, dike, lake, mountain, forest, and any physical features of the land that are not part of the farm. Meanwhile, examples of manmade boundaries are road, political boundaries (e.g., barangay, municipal, and provincial borders), houses, irrigation canal, and any manmade structures that are not part of the farm.
 

Tenure Status of the Parcel - It is the right under which a parcel is held or operated. A farm may be operated under a single form of tenure or under more than one form, in which case each form of tenure must be reported separately by parcel. A parcel may have any of the following tenure status: fully owned, owner-like possession, tenanted, leased/rented, rent-free, held under Certificate of Land Transfer (CLT), held under Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT)/Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT), held under Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA), Certificate of Stewardship Agreement (CSA)/Certificate of Stewardship Contract (CSC), and other tenure status.
 

Physical Area of the Parcel - Physical area of the parcel refers to the size or actual measurement of the parcel.
 

Legal Status of the Agricultural Operator - This refers to the form of organization under which the agricultural activity is undertaken. An agricultural farm may be operated by a single management, which is any of the following: individual/sole proprietorship, partnership without formal and written agreement (jointly with one or more than one household), partnership with formal and written agreement (not registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission), and other legal status (includes tribes, clans, and others).
 

Main Use of the Parcel - This refers to the main use of the land parcel such as growing crops, raising livestock or cultivating/culturing fish, and other agricultural activities carried out on the parcel making up the holding with the intention of obtaining products and/or benefits. The categories for the main use of the parcel are as follows: under temporary crops, under permanent crops, under temporary and permanent crops, temporarily fallow, under temporary meadows and pastures, under permanent meadows and pastures, covered with wood and forest, under livestock and poultry raising, homelot, under aquaculture, public land, and other land use.