AGRICULTURE
Food
Productivity and Life
Human life is sustained with foods, and foods
are products of agricultural activities such
as farming, fishing, livestock and poultry-raising.
In
crop production, the area’s humidity,
soil productivity and crop management system
play significant roles. General relief is
also a factor to consider.
Humidity
is the interaction between precipitation and
temperature. It influences the growth of plants
and animals. The amount of moisture that transpires
from the plants and body of animals is dependent
upon the relative humidity in the agricultural
area.
On
the other hand, the productivity of a soil
refers to its capability to produce a specified
crop or sequence of crops under a specific
system of management. Soil productivity rating
or index for a given crop is expressed in
terms of a standard index of 100. Thus, a
productivity rating of 75 for a certain crop
means that a soil is about three - fourths
as productive relative to national standard
or, in terms of production, the soil could
produce 45 cavans of palay of lowland rice
wherein the national standard is 60 cavans
of palay.
Croplands
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Bani is noted for producing the sweetest,
the reddest and the juiciest watermelon in
the province of Pangasinan and in the country.
Before 1986, watermelon (pakwan) production
was unheard of in Bani. Trial plantings were
began by Farmers School on the Air, a radio
program sponsored by the Bureau of Soils assisted
by Bayer Philippines. It was a hit and miss
affair, using the information given by the
radio program. As it was then, the peculiarities
of the people were in play, shying away from
the uncertain. It was a certain Rey Catabay
of Brgy. Banog Norte who initiated the first
commercial planting of watermelon in 1989.
That was a lucky break for Bani farmers. Commercial
planting of watermelon spread like wildfire
to the neighboring barangays of Ambabaay and
Garrita to Poblacion area and other barangays.
Now, a decade after, the farmers of lowland
Bani derive no less than P20 Million in net
income from watermelon production. To top
it all, Bani farmers have mastered the technology
and which has earned for Bani the reputation
as the home of the sweetest, the juiciest
and the reddest watermelon in the country.
Basically
as an agricultural town, farming is the main
occupation and means of livelihood of the
inhabitants of the Municipality of Bani. Other
sources of income of the residents are fishing,
livestock production and poultry-raising.
As per record, farmers totaled 3,977, while
those engaged in fishing and aquaculture numbered
996.
Of
the 9,954 hectares agricultural area coverage,
5,317.1 hectares is devoted to crop production
and aquaculture covers 2,001 hectares to include
396 hectares under Fishpond Leasehold Agreement
with the BFAR and about 3,049.6 hectares is
classified as pastureland and grassland.
The
major crops grown in the town are rice, corn,
peanut, mango and watermelon which, respectively
reached 16,423 metric tons, 985 metric tons,
69 metric tons, 458.9 metric tons and 1,565.2
metric tons.
Fruit
trees are mostly grown in backyards and banana
is planted in sloping areas or at the foot
of the hills.
Rice farming is carried out in all barangays
of Bani while corn and peanut farming is prevalent
in Barangays Macabit, Centro Toma, Dacap Norte
and Colayo. Barangays Tugui Norte, Ranao,
San Jose and Ballag are noted for vegetable
production while Barangays Ranao, San Simon,
Centro Toma, Quinaoayanan, Ranom Iloco, Tipor
and Ballag are known for mango productions.
Barangays Banog Norte, Banog Sur, Garrita,
Ambabaay and Calabeng are also the leading
watermelon producers.
On
the other hand, Bani has 501 hectares planted
to coconut found sporadically in four coastal
barangays with 987 farmers benefiting from
this sector. As per estimates there are 37,771
fruit bearing trees with an average production
of 30 fruits per tree per year and 12,340
non-bearing fruit trees in Bani.
Most
full-time farmers in the municipality are
marketing conscious. Farming is being operated
in a business-like fashion, gauging beforehand
the cost of production and the expected profit
margin.
The
cost of production of vegetables, peanut,
mango, watermelon, legumes and root crops
cannot be determined due to fluctuating prices
of fertilizers, labor and transportation expenses.
The farmers usually set aside their estimated
personal and family consumption together with
the required seeds for the next planting season.
All excesses are marketed for cash.
LIVESTOCK
AND POULTRY
Livestock
and poultry are also sources of income of
the residents of Bani but not on commercial-scale.
Cows
and carabaos are the most important raised
livestocks chiefly as work animals. Some progressive
farmers have more than one of each animal
and several poultry heads in their backyards.
As
per latest record, there are 2,093 heads of
carabao, 3,678 cattle, 4,885 swine, 2,820
goats, and 34,705 chicken and fowl in Bani.
For commercial purposes, 260 heads of cattle
were raised in 2002.
Due
to skyrocketing cost of poultry and animal
feeds, the livestock and poultry industry
in the locality is not well-developed. With
this economic limitation, the 2,833.6 hectares
pastureland to date is not being utilized
for livestock production.
MARINE AND INLAND
FISHING
The
sources of inland fishing in the Municipality
of Bani are the brackish water in Tambac Bay,
rivers and creeks where the landing point
of which are the fish port in Barangay Masidem,
Banog Norte, Aporao, Caliswang and Poblacion.
Species catch are siganid (malaga), mudcrab
(rasa), blue crab (dariway), mullet (porong),
goby (ipusan), tilapia, shrimp (pasayan),
fine shrimp (aramang), spadefish (ritag) and
gizzard shad (kabasi).
There
are also 58 fishpond (FLA) concessions in
Bani producing milkfish (bangus), particularly
in Barangays Aporao - 21, Banog Norte - 24,
San Miguel - 11 and another 2 in Garrita.
Pataga Fish ports in Barangay Aporao, Masidem
and Caliswang used to be the fish-landing
port.
Offshore
fishing (marine), on the other hand, is undertaken
in the South China Sea where yellow fin tuna
(oriles), blue fin tuna (buslogan), common
dolphin fish (dorado), spanish mackerel (tanguigui),
roundscad (galonggong), flying fish (bulilit),
rudder fish (ilek), large mouth snapper (marabituen),
snapper (rogso), octopus (kurita), lobster
(udang) and squid (pusit) are abundant.
Aside from the fishing facilities, there are
617 motorized bancas in Bani, 184 in South
China Sea and 433 in Tambac Bay of 0.5 to
3 tons and horse power ranging from 8 to 16
in Barangay Aporao - 50, Banog Norte - 76,
Garrita - 78, Luac - 5, San Miguel - 51, Tugui
Grande - 21, Masidem – 57, Poblacion
– 60, Quinaoayanan – 28, San Vicente
– 2, San Simon – 14, Ranom Iloco
– 14, Centro Toma – 11, Ballag
– 1, Dacap Sur – 157, Ambabaay
– 3 and Arwas – 10.
FORESTRY
Forestry Productivity
One
of the forestry policies laid down in Presidential
Decree No. 389 otherwise known as the Forestry
Reform Code of the Philippines (as amended
by Presidential Decree No. 705) is the protection,
development and rehabilitation of forestlands
so as to ensure their continuity in productive
condition.
Thus,
the policy making government officials do
not intend to curtail forest activities, rather,
to promote projects as activities so that
forestlands may remain to be productive.
In
fact, under Sec. 36 of the said Code, incentives
are given to qualified persons to encourage
them engage in industrial tree plantation,
tree farming, and agro-forestry farms. Projects
on reforestation are also being pushed by
the government.
The
forests found in the municipality are declared
as protection forest by the DENR. They cover
a land area of 1,050 hectares, and are found
in Barangays Colayo, Dacap Sur, Centro Toma
and San Simon. These have been reforested
through the effort of the local government
in coordination with the DENR and are planted
with trees like mahogany, “sagat”,
and the likes.
Communal Reforestation Project
This
project in the town of Bani started on May
19, 1979 under a Tree Farm Lease Agreement
to expire on December 31, 2004. The project,
covering an area of approximately 250 hectares
in Centro Toma, has for its principal objective
the restoration of vegetative cover and protection
of the municipality’s public forestland.
As of this writing, the same is already planted
to economically important tree species.
With
the successful implementation of the said
communal tree farm, the Municipal Government
of Bani earned a national distinction. In
1996, it was a recipient of the “Likas
Yaman Award” for Best Upland Community
- Based project. This award for environmental
excellence was received by Mayor Irineo B.
Orlino for and in behalf of the Municipality
on June 10, 1996 during the DENR Foundation
Day and Awarding Ceremonies at Heroes Hall,
Malacañang Palace, Manila. The award
was handed by former President Fidel V. Ramos
and DENR Secretary Victor Ramos.
Existing
Industries
Existing industrial establishments in the
municipality are generally light, home based
and small-scale by classification. As per
record of 2002, there are 37 industrial establishments
in the municipality, which comprises 7 welding
shops, 22 ricemills, 4 handicrafts, 2 furniture
making, and 1 auto repair shop and 1 junk
shop.
Settlers
in San Vicente, San Miguel and Garrita are
also engaged in handicraft making. Finished
products of woodcraft industry are being exported
to other foreign countries. Cottage industry
like furniture making, woodcarving, food processing
and others in the town are considered as dollar
earner. This industry has ten (10) laborers.
