Vigan Agriculture

Agricultural lands occupy around 1,300 hectares of Vigan. Of this area, 1,017 hectares get their water source from pumps, with the remaining relying on the rain. The farmers practice crop rotation, alternating other agricultural products with the usual rice and corn that are mainly grown during the rainy season. Rice, onion, corn, sugarcane and Cavendish bananas are the major crops of Vigan.

The Biguenos are known for their love of vegetables, including a lot of it in their cuisine. So it is no surprise that they also dedicate a lot of their agricultural lands to planting vegetable crops like ampalaya, bell pepper, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, mongo, squash, tomato and bottle gourd. They also produce plenty of root crops, mainly cassava, jicama, peanuts, sweet potato and yam. Aside from bananas, Vigan is also a producer of calamondin or calamansi, guava, mango, melon and watermelon.

The lands are mostly owned by the farmers themselves, with only 30 percent worked on by tenants and 10 percent by lessees. Tenants and owners share the harvest proceeds according to what is legislated by the land reform program of the government which is at 75/25.

All the farmers use fertilizers, either the organic or the inorganic kind. They also know how to choose the best yielding seeds and make use of farm equipment like tractors and water pumps. To supply the farmers needs, there are dealers and retailers of agricultural supplies within the poblacion. The more than a dozen rice mills are found much closer to the farm lands.

The agricultural animals found in Vigan are cattle, carabao or Asian water buffalo, pig, goat and poultry. Most of them are raised in backyards.

Though it has fish ponds, is by the China Sea and surrounded and crisscrossed by many rivers, Vigan’s fishing industry is not sufficient to provide the residents’ needs. They have to source the rest from neighboring municipalities and major fishing centers in the country like Dagupan and Malabon.

Vigan’s agricultural office has officers and technicians that inform and assist the farmers through programs on plant material distribution, pest management, fertilizer use, diversification of crops, as well as development of poultry, livestock and fisheries, i.e. the dispersal of aquaculture materials. They engage in research, community empowerment and other trainings for the farming community that not only improve planting knowledge and skills but also impart management know-how as well.

The agricultural officers and technicians also conduct studies on soil and water, and implement conservation measures to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural industries in Vigan.