The study assessed Philippine physical resources (i.e., land, water and weather pattern) with focus on rice, corn and coconut production systems. It specifically: 1) described the country's agricultural capabilities and defined boundaries/interactions among resources that influence agricultural production; 2) mapped out major agricultural production areas and determined possible relationships between performance and resources; 3) compared the Philippines� physical resources and agricultural performance with countries such as Thailand (rice and corn), Indonesia (rice and coconut) and Malaysia (coconut versus oil palm); and, 4) identified some policy issues on effective and efficient resource use for agricultural development. Findings on identified suitable land for agricultural land showed a Philippine potential to produce rice and corn enough to supply a projected 10-year increase in population demand, thus a current capability to produce at a surplus and compete globally. Several moderating variables to this potential were identified: climate (typhoon-prone for Luzon and Visayas), small area covered by irrigation facilities, small landholdings, and low incentives to use modern technologies due to the low benefit-cost ratio. Nevertheless, the study proposes that investment in R&D and policy changes could balance out the negative effects of these moderating factors. In addressing Philippine agricultural production requirements while competing globally, the study also forwarded the following considerations: 1) expansion of agricultural land can only help to a limited extent since the Philippines has the smallest land area among the four countries; 2) the country does not need to advocate for increased transfer of labor forces towards agriculture since our land to agricultural population ratio is already low compared to Thailand and Malaysia; 3) Philippine growth rates are comparable but remain the lowest in terms of absolute yield/ha, thus a need to look at diversification. Overall, the study pointed out a need to reconcile national food security policy and the drive against poverty based on technical and socio-economic contexts.
