1. Farming

The Primary Sector of the Local Economy composed of agriculture and fishery sectors which is the backbone of the economy of the municipality.  Approximately, 60% of the population depends generally on farming and related activities.  At present, there are about 3,600 legitimate land farmers who cultivated some 12,490 hectares of agricultural land.  Ninety percent of these farmers earned only an ample sum of money to sustain their family’s needs.  Small as it may but the farmers considered the amount sufficient enough to live decently since they will no longer buy rice, corn and vegetables.  In addition to that, backyard rising of swine and poultry animals greatly adds their income which in return augments their daily needs.  The bigger families however, the amount is still far below to poverty line.
The area’s major products are rice, corn and copra.  Every time these products are harvested, the municipality’s trade and business transactions are significantly increased which only proves their vital role to the areas of economy.

Table 4.1. Areas Devoted For Agricultural Production

Major Crops Production
Rice – Average Rice production in irrigated area is 85 cavans per hectare and in un-irrigated areas there are only 60 cavans of rice per hectare in every harvest season.  With these average, Labason has annual rice production of at least 183,742.50 cavans or around 1,842 tons, considering there are rice fields capable of planting/harvesting three times a year particularly those with abundant water supply.
Corn – Corn harvest per hectare is more or less 40 sacks.  Using this figure, the yearly corn production is estimated to reach at around 90,000 sacks or 4,500 tons.  Coconut – On hectare of coconut farm yields 1,500 nuts per harvest.  On the other hand, regular size coconut weighs between 300 to 400 grams or 3 nuts of one kilo of copra.  Considering these information, annual production of copra is more or less 11,308.40 tons.   

Farming Practice
Most of the local farmers apply inorganic farming method to maintain high production.  Only few areas practice organic method.  In inorganic farming, expensive commercial fertilizer and chemicals (insecticides) are commonly applied on rice fields to protect the plant from harmful insects and to maximize production

Irrigation Facilities
The municipality’s rivers and small springs bring benefits to local farmers and play a key role in the local irrigation program.  The irrigation dam of Labason River supplied at least 550 hectares of rice fields.  The other two major rivers however, provide only minimal contribution since they are not developed to serve as an irrigation system.
For the record, the later part of 1999 up to 2000, the Irrigation Dam underwent a major repair to its irrigation canal; this is due to the increasing need of abundant water supply for the rice fields and the destruction of some portions or segments of the canal.

Credit Institutions
Major source of financial assistance comes from the Government through duly organized cooperative.  Secondly, financial assistance comes from banks and other credit institutions facilitating the needs of the farmer.  Some practice involved lending money as cash advance and the payment will be made during harvest time is still practice though the same is disadvantageous to the farmer considering that they will be forced to sell their products to a businessman in a low price.

Support Facilities
The Municipal Agriculturist Office maintains a nursery for different kinds of seedlings of forest and fruit trees.

2. Fishing

Deep Sea Fishing
As the average catch per day gradually decreases, small-scale commercial fishermen of Labason start to invade the far and wide area of Sulu Sea going to even further near the Palawan Sea.  This type of fishing is locally known as “navy-navy” or “Pamo”.  Both are considered Deep-Sea Fishing since they are done kilometers away from the coastline and at much greater fathom.  They former requires two to three days stay at the deep blue sea while the latter needs only 15 to 20 hours.  The latter also uses net and employs three to five fishermen for one fishing boat.  Its regular season starts at November and ends on March.

Sustenance Fishing
The need for sustenance fishing only arises if there is an inadequate supply of fish product for consumption of the inhabitants.  The municipality had two fishponds, roughly estimated to be 5 hectares, situated at Barangay Kipit and Barangay Patawag.  The Local Government of Labason owns the fishpond situated at Barangay Patawag, but being leased to private person who operated the fishpond.  The said fishpond can produce roughly one tone of bangus, shrimps and mud crabs a year.
Our rivers, which traverse across the municipality, also produce a variety of marine life available for consumptions.  Kipit River is famous for its crustacean abundance, while Patawag and Labason River are equally known as the breeding ground of shrimps.

Support Facilities
            The presence of the cold storage and ice plant in the area boost the fishing industry considering that cold storage and ice were primary ingredient to avoid spoilage thus enabling them to deliver in a wide market range.