1404
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
Rice is the staple food-product of the inhabitants of the Islands. It is their most widely cultivated crop. The area devoted to its cultivation in 1921 was 1,673,381 hectares, as compared with 1,484,895 hectares in 1920. The production during the period 1918-1921 shows a great increase over the pre-war output, and imports have diminished correspondingly. In spite of this, considerable quantities of this cereal are still imported, chiefly from French Indo-China.
Through the efforts of the Bureau of Agriculture local farmers are realizing the advantages of scientific methods in rice farming. Seed selection is given due emphasis. Several irrigation systems are now completed, many more are in process of construction, and others are being projected. This is bound in the near future to do away with the ravages of droughts, which are of periodical occurrence, and at the same time make feasible the growing of two or three crops a year in the rice sections of the archipelago. The extension of cultivated areas is also receiving due attention from the Government and the local farmers.
Manila hemp, which the Philippines supplies to the world as first-class cordage material, is produced from the leaf stalks of a plant thriving in the Islands. The fibre is also used for making binder twine, and from the old disintegrated Manila ropes is made the well-known and much-used Manila paper. In the Philippines. hemp is extensively used in the manufacture of cloth. In the making of baskets, slippers, mats and other articles, the fibre has been tried with excellent results. Within the last few years a very important use for the fibre has been found in the manufacture of hats. In 1921, 548,094 hectares of land were planted to hemp, the total production therefrom being 108,353,530 kilos. Of this quantity, 96,930,931 kilos, valued at P41,016,917, were exported.
Coconut palms are grown extensively in the Philippine Islands. Originally appreciated for its raw food value and later as a material for soap manufacture, the coconut assumed more importance when it began to be used in the manufacture of vegetable butter and other kindred edible products from the oil and dried nut, usually referred to as copra. Coconut oil is also used as an ingredient in the manufacture of many toilet articles, such as creams and pomades. During the fiscal year 1921, the total area planted to coconu s was 417,959 hectares, with 83,591,896 trees, yielding a total production of 374,622,476 kilos of cópra, valued at P59,445,977.
Tobacco can be grown in practically all sections of the Philippines. The best and choicest class is raised in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela in northern Luzon. Of all Philippine crops, tobacco demands the greatest care in its planting, cultivation, curing and classification. This same care under strict Government supervision is also exercised in the factories which turn out the well-known Manila cigars. In 1921, 90,980 hectares were under cultivation and 52,799,030 kilos of leaf tobacco were produced, valued at P8,777,574.
Sugar-cane thrives well, principally in the island of Negros. The most note- worthy feature or sugar-cane growing and sugar manufacturing is the increase in the number of sugar centrals during recent years. The area now devoted to the cultivation of sugar-cane is 241,345 hectares. The extension of the cultivated area and the introduction of tractors and other farm machinery have largely brought about the increase in production. In 1921, 534,733,843 kilos of sugar, valued at P93,490,767, were produced in the Islands.
Among the other crops with great agricultural possibilities are maguey, sisal, corn, coffee, rubber, kapok, cacao, cassava, peanut, vegetables and fruits. The Government maintains a force of plant inspectors who are charged with the duty of directing the campaigns for the eradication of diseases and pests injurious to farm crops. The most important of the latter is the locust plague, the control of which necessitates the mobilization of the inhabitants of the infested regions for the purpose of catching and killing the insects. The introduction of diseases and pests from foreign countries is also prevented, as the plants and fruits imported therefrom are inspected in the principal ports of the Islands, and, if found to carry diseases, are not allowed entry. Cattle-raising as an agricultural pursuit is also very promising. The total number of cattle in the Philippines, excluding Manila, is 803,825 head. The work of suppress- ing and preventing dangerous and communicable diseases, especially rinderpest, is entrusted to Government veterinarians assigned to the different provinces of the Islands,