CENTRAL VISAYAS AGRICULTURAL PROFILE

General Information

The Central Visayas Region, geographically known as Region 7 is located in the center of the Philippine archipelago bounded by Negros Occ. on the West, by the Visayan sea on the North, by Leyte Island on the East and by Mindanao Sea on the South. It is composed of four (4) provinces, namely: Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. The narrow coastal lowlands, with its irregular coastline, often provide good harbors. The soil formation in Cebu and Western Bohol is basically of limestone especially along the coastal areas.

Central Visayas is the 6th smallest region in the country with a total land area of 1.49 million hectares. It constitutes about five percent of the country’s land area. Oriental Negros accounts for the largest share of the regional land area (36 percent), followed by Cebu (34 percent), Bohol (28 percent) and Siquijor (2 percent).

Activities in the Visayas and Mindanao areas. It is also the second largest urban economic center in the country. Located in the heart of the Philippine Islands, Cebu is the most accessible place in the country, with more domestic air and sea linkages. Cebu is base to over 80% of the inter-island shipping capacity of the Philippines and hosts the country’s second major international gateway, the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

 

With its strategic location, Cebu is ideal for commodity distribution by land, air or sea especially for very dynamic markets, both local and foreign. It has been the predominant destination of direct foreign investments, export industries, trade and urban support services.

Neighboring Cebu is Bohol, the closest province and the 10th largest island in the country. Bohol is geared to become the region’s prime eco-cultural tourist destination and agro-industrial center. Investment areas in the identified Special Economic Zone are focused on eco-tourism, light industries and agro-industrial development. There are potential areas for the province to improve its agricultural productivity and increase economic opportunities for the people in the region.

Negros Oriental also boasts of medium and large-scale firms which include sugar mills, chemical factory, fruit dehydration plant and cement plant. Ammonium nitrate, raw cane sugar, blackstrap molasses, copper, crude coconut oil and dehydrated fruits are the top export products.

In the province of Siquijor, major crops like corn, peanuts and coconut are abundant. Tourism is projected to take the center stage in the island which is declared as a marine reserve and tourist zone.