Ifugao - Economy

The Ifugao depend greatly on their wet-rice pond fields. The majority—84 percent—of their diet is derived from agriculture, most of it from the wet fields; 10 percent is from the fish, clams, and snails living in those wet fields. The Ifugao grow taro, cotton, beans, radishes, cabbage, and peas in those same fields, but they raise sweet potatoes and corn elsewhere in swidden fields. A man's status depends on his rice fields. Irrigation is accomplished by dikes and sluices. Pond fields range in size from just a few square meters to more than one hectare, the average size being 270 square meters.