The province’s agri- and fishery-based enterprises maintain banana plantations; cattle ranches; bangus, hito, tilapia, tiger prawn fishponds; mariculture; and salt farms. Livestock is just as viable.

With more than 7,000 hectares of mango plantation, Sarangani is an emerging source in SOCSKSARGEN aside from being a large producer of copra and sugarcane.

Giant companies like DOLE Philippines have ventured into banana, pineapple, and asparagus growing. Fishing and aquaculture also sustain the local economy.

Fisheries

Total fish haul for municipal fisheries classified under motorized and non-motorized bancas reached 300.720 and 114.627 metric tons, respectively for the year 2000.

Last year (2001), municipal catch under same classification was registered at 376,199 and 95,782 in kilograms.

Sarangani is the aquaculture hub in Mindanao but the province is positioning itself a the aquaculture center in the whole Philippines for the next years.

The Department of Trade and Industry Field Office registered some P271.2 million investments on aquaculture over a year generating an employment rate of 52 percent.

Aquaculture production for the year 2000 averaged 2,949 metric tons covering 11,246 hectares of fishponds and 10,880 cubic meter area of fish cages.

Number of aqua farms for the year 2001 has also increased. Aquaculture industry in the province has greatly improved due to the efficient marketing strategies by big aquaculture firms such as the Sarangani Alson’s Aqua Technologies, Inc., which processed the famous Sarangani Bay Bangus exported abroad.

Grains

Sarangani province is a top producer of rice and corn in SOCSKSARGEN.

The total rice area for the year 2000 is 11,633.25 hectares with a production yield of 48,248.94 metric tons.

This staple food is largely harvested in the five municipalities of the province, particularly, in the top producing municipalities of Maitum and Kiamba, the “food baskets” of Sarangani.

Annual average yield is 4 tons per hectare. Forty percent of which is distributed to the National Food Authority and the traders in General Santos City.

Certified Seed of Palay is grown at the municipality of Maitum. Homegrown “Kiamba Rice,” a high quality grain sold throughout the country, is produced both by the municipalities of Maitum and Kiamba.

Corn, one of the most popular agricultural products in Sarangani is planted to 54,106.50 hectares yielding an average total production of 130,175.73 metric tons in year 2000.

The municipality of Malungon is the biggest producing area by 33 percent of the total hectarage.

Corn is being marketed to General Santos City since the province does not have a processing plant for feeds, which are also distributed nationwide.