Bukidnon - Economy



Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The Bukidnon have always been farmers, and with 95 percent still living in rural areas they remain primarily farmers today. Maize and rice are their principal crops. Until the turn of the century they cultivated these entirely in swidden plots along the edge of the plateau. As they were persuaded to settle in towns and villages on the grasslands, they began plow agriculture in small plots near their homes. Nevertheless, it is still common for Bukidnon, especially in remote villages, to practice slashand-burn farming while also maintaining a garden plot around their home. Few possess mechanized means for plowing. They use a water buffalo or bullock to pull their plow and they harvest by hand. Other subsistence crops common in Bukidnon communities include nangka, camote (sweet potato), gabi, cassava, beans, banana, and coconut. In recent years many farmers have invested in coffee growing as a commercial substitute for abaca, which for decades was their principal cash crop. While agriculture remains the foundation of the Bukidnon economy, many young Bukidnon have gained employment with mining and logging companies in the province, usually as guards rather than miners or loggers. In all of these cases, Bukidnon represent an impoverished or at best marginal economic group. The exceptions to this rule are the Bukidnon civil servants (usually teachers or clerks) who represent a significant minority of the Binukid-speaking population, especially in urban areas.

Industrial Arts. Some Bukidnon families supplement their meager income by mat making, basketry, and embroidery. But other traditional arts such as pottery and wood carving have been virtually lost.

Trade. Few Bukidnon have ever been traders. Today some farmers transport their produce as far as Cagayan de Oro, but most sell at the nearest mill. There are a number of local Bukidnon cooperatives and Bukidnon-owned general-merchandise stores, but these are the exception in a trading world dominated by Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, other migrants, and Chinese. Bukidnon, as a rule, are just too poor to become economically competitive.

Division of Labor. Bukidnon women have enjoyed a degree of power and respect, especially those with salaried jobs such as teaching. But the division of labor continues to place them at a disadvantage because they also are expected to cook, clean, rear the children, and launder. In agriculture they do the planting (although men assist) and weeding, and they help with the harvest. They also earn some supplementary income through their mat making, basketry, and embroidery work, and by serving as washerwomen for more affluent families. When not engaged in preparing the soil for planting and other agricultural tasks, men may work at carpentry, construction, stripping abaca, and transporting crops to market.

Land Tenure. In Bukidnon Province over 60 percent of the farms are under title to their resident farmer, although tenancy rates have been rising since 1960. The Bukidnon people worked their land under usufructory arrangements rather than as private property until the present century. Today most do not own any land. Those who do own very small farms of less than 5 hectares, and many of these do not have a secure title. In remote areas, where swidden agriculture is still common, they slash-and-burn unused land without any title at all. Whether swidden or plow agriculturalists, smallholders or tenants, Bukidnon tend to be, at best, poor subsistence farmers, and many do not have sufficient land or tenancy rights to be self-sufficient at all.


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