Application of Systems Analysis Methodology to Dingras District, Ilocos Norte, Philippines
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Application of systems analysis methodology to Dingras district, Ilocos Norte, Philippines E.O. Agustin1, R.P. Roetter2, C.G. Acosta1,*, I.B. Galdores1, R.P. Villacillo1, A.B. Alcoy1, M.P. Caluya1, D.S. Bucao1, C.M. Balisacan1, S.G. Aquino1, J.I. Rosario1, L.M. Tute1, C.B. Julian1, F.B. Asia, H. Van Keulen3, M.K. Van Ittersum3, A.G. Laborte4, and M. Van Den Berg5 1 Mariano Marcos State University, Batac 2906, Ilocos Norte, Philippines 2 Alterra, Soil Science Centre, Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands 3 Plant Production Systems, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 430, 6700 AK Wageningen, The Netherlands 4 International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), DAPO, Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines 5 Development Economics, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands Abstract Concerns about the rapid increase of population stimulated the need to find efficient land use and management systems that improve the well being of people in the agricultural sector, while at the same time protect the environment. Farm household producers are faced with concerns on the suitability of new technologies while considering the profitability of agricultural production as affected by other factors such as land availability, high input costs, intensification and diversification of crops, household consumption, and capital and credit limitations. In this study, a farm household model is used to evaluate the adoption behaviour of four representative farmers in Dingras, Ilocos Norte Province, Philippines. Three alternative technologies wereconsidered: current farmers’ practice (CFP), integrated pest management (IPM), and combined IPM and site specific nutrient management (SSNM). In addition, changes in household behaviour due to the removal of water constraints and changes in prices of biocide and fertilizer were evaluated. The results show that both the adoption of combined IPM and SSNM and the removal of the irrigation system result * Corresponding author: E-mail address: [email protected] Paper presented at First Asia-Europe Workshop on Sustainable Resource Management and Policy Options for Rice Ecosystems (SUMAPOL 2005), 11-14 May 2005, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China 1 in a significant increase in farmers’ income combined with a decrease in environmental impact. On the other hand, the effect of changes in input prices is limited. The paper argues that the presented methodology and results can help in the assessment of existing policies and in the formulation of policies for the improvement of the well being of the farmers and the sustainability of production. Keywords: Farm household modelling; Cropping systems; Integrated nutrient management; IPM; Dingras; Philippines 1. Introduction Rice-based ecosystems in Asia are challenged by population growth, urbanization and industrialization. Increased population results in an increased demand for food while increased industrialization (and hence income) increases demand for alternative land uses. In other words, recent developments have led to increased competition for scarce natural resources particularly land and water (Roetter et al., 2000), which calls for a basic redirection of land use concepts such as crop intensification and diversification (PPDO, 2002). The basic questions to be answered are how to meet the increasing demand for income and food of the fast growing population given decreasing/degrading natural resources, and how to conserve natural resources while at the same time increasing agricultural productivity and farmers’ income (Cramer et al., 1997). Land use planning under multiple conflicting development goals with increasing competition for scarce resources is complex and needs to address the limitations of farmers in terms of capital and credit and fast increasing prices of agricultural inputs, especially biocides and fertilizer. The present agricultural system of Ilocos Norte province in the Phillipines can be characterized as highly diversified and intensified. Farmers intensify production by applying greater amounts of inorganic fertilizers, irrigation and pesticides, especially to cash crops. Excessive use of fertilizers, particularly nitrogen, has been shown to pollute the groundwater resource due to NO3 leaching, whereas excessive pesticide use harms human health and biodiversity. While farmer income is the main concern of policy makers, safeguarding the environment is also a critical factor that planners need to look into, as expressed during a stakeholder meeting in 2003 (IRMLA Report, 2003). For assessing possible alternatives, planners need tools such as models and expert systems to help make issues transparent and identify feasible solutions. This paper highlights the farm household model (FHM) approach (Singh et al., 1986) that was 2 adopted by the project ‘Systems Research for Integrated Resource Management and Land Use Analysis’ (IRMLA) for Dingras District, Ilocos Norte. In this paper, a farm household model is used to determine the suitability of three production technologies, i.e. current farmers’ practice (CFP), integrated pest management (IPM), and combined IPM and site specific nutrient management (SSNM) at the farm level (MAO Dingras, 2002) and to analyse changes in household behaviour due to the removal of water constraints and changes in prices of biocide and fertilizer. 2. The case study area The province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines is geographically located between 17°48’ and 18°29’ N latitude and 120°5’ and 120°58’ E longitude occupying the coastal plain in the northwestern corner of the island of Luzon. It has a total land area of 0.34 million ha, more than one-third of which (129,650 ha) can be classified as agricultural land. The climate is characterized by a distinct dry and wet season, from November to April and from May to October, respectively, with a mean annual rainfall of about 2000 mm. Ilocos Norte consists of one city and 22 municipalities among which is the municipality of Dingras. Dingras is composed of 32 barangays or villages with 6,921 households. The municipality of Dingras is mainly agricultural and located within the central lowlands of Ilocos Norte. Its total land area is 17,962 ha, of which 9,860 (55%) ha is classified as agricultural land while 1,670 (9%) ha is forest land (MPDO, 2001). Rice, the staple food, is grown on most agricultural land in the wet season, as most cropping patterns are rice-based. In areas that are surface-irrigated throughout the year, crop choice is very limited, and triple rice or double rice, possibly followed by an upland crop, are grown. In the upland area, rice is followed by upland crops such as garlic, tobacco, corn, sweet potato, sweet pepper, mungbean, eggplant, and bittergourd. The local government of Dingras aims to maintain the municipality as the rice granary in Ilocos Norte by stimulating the adoption of sustainable farm practices and improved productivity. Consequently, the adoption of IPM and combined IPM and SSNM is encouraged at the farm level. In 2001, a survey was held among 164 households from 15 villages in the municipality of Dingras .The farm households are quite diversified. Often, non- agricultural activities contribute greatly to household income. Most farmers cultivate rented land as well as their own land. Sharing of produce between landlord and farmer is 75:25. The number of economically active members per household was calculated based on the following: children below 10 years old are not accounted for; youth 3 between 10 and 15 years old and students are considered as half-time workers, and persons between 16 and 70 years old, who are not students as fill-time workers. The households were classified into four farm types using cluster analysis. The following variables were used to cluster the households: total hectares of farm land; proportion of farm with surface irrigation throughout the year; proportion of farm area with good drainage; total value of farm assets; and number of economically active members of the family (Bi and Pradel, 2003). Table 1 shows the characteristics of the four farm types. The table reflects the following; (1) farm type A has just under 1 ha land area, most of which is rainfed, well drained; (2) farm type B has slightly more than 1 ha land area, most of which is surface irrigated, poorly drained; (3) farm type C has the largest in terms of land area (1.63 ha), most of which is surface irrigated, poorly drained; and (4) farm type D is relatively the poorest of the farm types because it has only 0.83 ha, most of which is rented and surface irrigated throughout. Adoption of technology and variations on constraints were analysed for these four farm types. 3. The farm household model A farm household model was developed for Dingras to optimize resource use for each of the four farm types. The model maximizes discretionary income, i.e. income after minimum requirements for the consumption of crop and animal products have been satisfied (Castaño, 2001), subject to the resource endowments of each farm type such as labour, water, land, capital and credit access. The model employs a linear programming approach using General Algebraic Modelling Systems (GAMS) to allocate resources in the best optimum way (Brooke et al., 1998). The decision patterns in the model include area allocation by land use types (LUT) and land rental for agricultural activities, buying and selling of crop and livestock products (cattle, pig and chicken), allocation of family labour to crop and animal production as well as farm and non-farm wage employment, and the use of family capital and credit. The constraints in the model include available land area, water, family labour, and family capital, subsistence requirements, and limits on wage employment and credit. Subsistence requirements can be met through own production or market purchase. Data were obtained from the survey, discussions with local experts and from BAS, 2001 (minimum consumption requirements). Labour and capital balances are computed per dekad (10 days). Available capital is a major constraint to farming. Family capital is computed as 15% of the production in the previous year plus remittances from relatives abroad.