Employment in the Province was placed at 91 percent and is mostly agricultureled(NSO, 2002). Agriculture is the main source of economic activity in Bohol with a greater number of its people engage in farming and fishing. It is Bohol’s major industry occupying most of its vast tracts of land. The fish sanctuaries strategically located around Bohol contributed to high fishery yield. Further development of these industries, however, requires, among others, improvements in irrigation facilities and agricultural technology.
Bohol’s poverty incidence (PI) is still high at 29% in Year 2003 (NSCB), a 21% decrease compared to the PI of Year 2000. Cited as some of the factors for the high poverty incidence are: seasonal employment, particularly in agriculture; minimal opportunities for off-farm employment compared to the national family annual average income of P123,162.00
Bohol, however, has done relatively well with regard to human development when compared with other provinces and countries, as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of education, income and life expectancy. Per the Philippine Human Development Report 2002, Bohol falls within the medium human development category and is comparable to that of Vietnam but slightly better than Indonesia. This positive trend shows that despite the limited cash income, Boholano families were still able to manage their resources well to minimize the impact of low income on their quality of life.
DID YOU KNOW……
The life expectancy at birth for Boholanos continues to improve through the years from 64 years in the 90’s and is projected to improve to 73 years by 2015(Fieger & Cabigon, Life table Estimates).