Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the northwestern part of Negros Island which is sandwiched by the islands of Cebu and Panay. The southeastern part of the island is occupied by Negros Oriental Province which belong to Central Visayas Region. Terrain is flat in the north and cental coastal areas. The southern and eastern parts are mostly hilly and mountainous. The southern part has two pronounced seasons: dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year. On the other hand, the nothern part has no pronounced seasons.

Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol

1. Gil Montilla - Speaker of the Philippine National Assembly (1935 - 1938) and Senator
2. Jose Yulo - Speaker of the Philippine House of Representative (1939 – 1941) and Supreme Court Chief Justice (1942 – 1945)
3. Leandro V. Locsin - 1990 - National Artist for architecture
4. Raul V. Fabella - 2011 National Scientist, Famous Economist, UP Professor
5. Kuh Ledesma - Popular singer from Bacolod City
6. Ronnie Lazaro - Movie and television actor from Sagay City
7. Mansueto 'Onyok' Velasco - Olympic silver medalist in boxing, television personality, actor
8. James Yap - Popular PBA basketball player
9. Francisco 'Pancho Villa' Guilledo - famous Filipino boxer

The economy of Negros Occidental depends so much on its sugar industry. Sugar plantations are found in almost every town and city and privately-owned railways used to transport sugarcane crisscross the plantations. Other agricultural products are as follows (figure in thousand metric tons for the year 2007, rank among 79 provinces)

Animal inventory of Negros Occidental in 2007 are as follows (figure in thousand, rank among 79 provinces)

As of 2007, there were 153 banks operating in the province with total deposits of 40.7 billion pesos.

Despite the known wealth generated by the sugar industry, poverty incidence stood at a high 42% in 2006, far above the country's average of 32.9%.

There is a need to diversify the products and services produced in the province. Aside from producing sugar for food, the province can lead the country in the production of bio-fuel, not just from sugar but also from other sources such as jathropha and coconut. Production and processing of high value crops such as malungay, asparagus, cacao, coffee, and cutflower is highly recommended. A modern cold storage terminal should be put up to support agricultural modernization.

Being one of the most populous provinces, manufacturing is very much encouraged not just for the domestic market but also for the export market. Other businesses that have great potential in the province are commercial complexes, industrial estates, mass housing, power generation, and business process outsourcing.

1. Bacolod City - known for its mardi-grass style Masskara Festival held in October.
2. Mambucal Mountain Resort - has sulfur springs and waterfalls
3. Kanlaon Volcano
4. Danjugan Island - a good diving site

Capitol photo credit to negrosoccidentaltourism.com

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