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| Land use classification of Nueva Ecija |
Significance of the Province
Nueva Ecija is publicly known as the rice-granary of the Philippines. Its vast agricultural lands are cultivated with rice that farmers consider their main source of livelihood. Rice cultivation is also the culture of Nueva Ecija farmers. The province’ 158,269-hectare rice lands ranked 2nd in the country, but irrigated lands of 119,459-hectares are the biggest among provinces. It also ranked 2nd in production, harvesting about 560,379 metric tons or 7.29 million sacks of rice, but first in irrigated palay of 462,185 metric tons. Its production compose 9% of the country’s total and 43% of the region’s total. Irrigated lands compose about 75% of the its total rice lands, thus, it is very clear that agriculture is distinguishedly productive. Rice farms yield about 80 to 100 cavans per hectare with some reaching to 120 cavans. Plain lands in the province are more than half which are of high potential for agricultural production.
Essential to the province’ agricultural productivity, are the farmers who sturdily cultivate rice lands that compose about 28% of it total land area of 575,133-hectares. The province’ population compose 19% of the region ranking 3rd and its land area 27% being the biggest. Nueva Ecija also composed majority of the farmer-beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Based on its 2010 accomplishment, 95,855 Nueva Ecija farmer-beneficiaries compose 36% of the region’s total tilling 169,375-hectares or 42% of the region’s total.
Nueva Ecija is totally a significant province in the country, contributing majorly in the country’s total rice supply and it is also a model of the bankruptcy of CARP as the government’s claimed number of FBs is questionable as farmers are presently facing massive cancellations of Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA), Certificate of Land Transfer (CLT) and Emancipation Patents (EP). Rice production is also threatened by the government’s program that would result vast land use conversion. Nueva Ecija is a potential ground for the struggle for genuine land reform and its farmers a powerful force of the peasant movement.
