About half of the Philippines’ 88 million
people live in rural areas. Poverty is most severe and most widespread in these
areas and almost 80 per cent of the country’s poor people live there.
Agriculture
is the primary and often only source of income for poor rural people, most of
whom depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. In
general, illiteracy, unemployment and the incidence of poverty are higher among
indigenous peoples and people living in the upland areas. Overall, more than a
third of the people in the Philippines live in poverty.
The
poorest of the poor are the indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers who
cultivate land received through agrarian reform, landless workers, fishers,
people in upland areas and women.
There
are substantial differences in the level of poverty between the regions and
provinces and the poverty gap between urban and rural areas is widening.
Indigenous people living in highly fragile and vulnerable ecosystems, people in
the uplands of the Cordillera highlands and on Mindanao Island are among the
poorest in the country.
The
causes of poverty in rural areas in the Philippines vary widely from island to
island. Among the causes of rural poverty are a decline in the productivity and
profitability of farming, smaller farm sizes and unsustainable practices that
have led to deforestation and depleted fishing waters. Rural areas lag behind
in economic growth and they have higher underemployment.
This is
partly because poor people have little access to productive assets and business
opportunities. They have few non-farm income-generating activities, and people
lack access to microfinance services and affordable credit. Some vulnerable
groups also face specific problems.
For
example, indigenous peoples have high illiteracy rates and are affected by the
encroachment of modern technology and cultures onto traditional norms and
practices.
Fishers
face continuing reduction in their catches and they have few opportunities or
skills outside of fishing. Women have limited roles outside of marketing and
family responsibilities.
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