Agricultural Development in the Uplands of Negros Oriental, Philippines:Processes and Drivers of Migration, Crop Production, and Livelihood Strategies

Abstract

The island of Negros has such vast sugarcane plantations spread across the plains that it is also referred to as “Sugar Land.” Negros is divided in two provinces by mountains. Nearly 80% of Negros Oriental is considered upland, where upland farming has been carried out by migrant farmers since the 19th century.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the process of migration to the upland, to characterize farmers, lifestyle and to describe changes in agriculture. First, I present a brief history of development in Negros, highlighting the factors and processes leading to the creation of large tracts of plantation and at the same time migration and landlessness. This includes factors in the delay of land reform on the plains, and farmers' cultivation of the upland areas. Next, I describe farming practices in the upland areas of Negros Oriental from monoculture to mixed cropping. Lastly, I compare three selected upland villages with different backgrounds. Basically, farmers in the villages began with subsistence farming, and later moved on to cultivation of cash crops following progress in logistics and market access. Agricultural development and related changes can be attributed significantly to agricultural projects implemented in the area, as well as changes in villagers' sources of income.

Compared to the lowland plains, there are many constraints to agricultural production in the uplands, but farmers were able to adapt. Farmers combined subsistence farming, cultivation of cash crops and off-farm sources of income, resulting in a mixed-type of agriculture in terms of crops, farming practices and capital intensity. The findings from this study show an important perspective for developing upland agriculture in this and other upland areas in the Philippines.