AJAD Volume 12 Issue No. 1 June 2015

We measure the impacts of irrigation development on poverty and income inequality in a frontier region of the Philippines. Using household panel data we measure changes in standard poverty measures and income inequality over the period 1995–2002. We make comparisons within the beneficiary community and between the beneficiary community and an adjacent community that, while not affected directly by irrigation services, was indirectly affected through expanded labor market opportunities arising from irrigation. Results of the analyses, including poverty and inequality decompositions, suggest lowland irrigation development led to reduced income inequality and lower rates of poverty in the lowland community, reduced inequality and lower rates of poverty for the group of upland households who participated in off-farm work on irrigated lowland farms, and higher overall income inequality between the lowland and upland communities.

Cultivar-specific adoption information is imperative for agricultural research organizations to make strategic research plans for crop-genetic development. However, such data are often unavailable in developing countries or obsolete and unreliable even when they exist. A budget-friendly and reliable method of tracking and monitoring varietal adoptions is highly desired. In this paper, we employ expert elicitation (EE) as a method to obtain estimates of modern variety (MV) adoption of rice in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. EE is conducted by comparing information from EE assessment and household surveys. We found that organized panels of agricultural experts can provide reliable estimates of the area planted to MVs. In addition, cultivar-specific adoption estimates are reliable for dominant varieties. To some extent, EE estimates are more precise when estimates are calculated by aggregating disaggregate-level elicitations than by directly obtaining aggregate-level elicitations. Furthermore, the household surveys reveal that it takes  approximately a decade for a new variety to be adopted by a significant number of farmers.

This paper provides a review of on-farm studies conducted to explore the viability of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii, locally known as ulang), culture in six regions in the Philippines. We adopted a participatory action learning approach aimed at improving pond productivity through engagement of 17 small-scale fish-farmer cooperators to adopt different ulang culture systems—ulang monoculture, ulang-rice polyculture, and ulang-tilapia polyculture. This paper focuses on comparing the production and profitability of ulang monoculture and ulang-tilapia polyculture.

The cooperators were guided to follow proper protocols in pond preparation, feeding, and water management. Results showed an average survival rate of 65 percent for ulang monoculture; and 59 percent and 77 percent survival rates for ulang and tilapia in polyculture system, respectively. The major problems encountered across regions were unavailability of post-larvae; distance of post-larvae source; water availability; presence of predators; and inconsistent implementation of technical interventions by the cooperators. This paper also presents research and policy recommendations toward sustainable development of freshwater prawn culture which include establishment of a network of hatcheries and broodstock development; technology promotion and extensions services; and improving value chains and market strategy.

Several studies have shown that labor outmigration is one of the livelihood strategies of poor farming households. However, no studies have shown its effect on rice crop production including a gender dimension on technical efficiency in rice farming. This paper attempts to improve the understanding of the relationship between male and female labor migration and farm technical efficiency in selected rice-based farming villages in the Philippines. Using cross-section data from 670 farm households in the Luzon area in the Philippines, results indicate that the type of migration, experience of the migrant, and frequency of home visits enhance farm technical efficiency; however, sex of the migrant increases inefficiencies. The average technical efficiency is 0.74. This implies that, in the short run, there is scope for increasing rice productivity by about 26 percent by conducting formal and informal trainings among the adult household members and providing them access to technical knowledge on the use of improved rice varieties and associated crop and resource management practices.

The study estimated the benefit and rate of returns to investment on chili research and development (R&D) in Bangladesh. The Economic Surplus Model with ex-post analysis was used to determine the returns to investment and their distribution between production and consumption. Several discounting techniques were also used to assess the efficiency of chili research. The adoption rate showed an increasing trend over the period. The yield of modern variety, BARI-Chilli-1, developed by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) was 72 percent higher than that of the local variety. Society received a net benefit of BDT 813.12 million (USD 10.42 million) from investment in chili R&D. The net present value and present value of research cost were estimated at BDT 289.14 million (USD 3.71 million) and BDT 78.49 million (USD 1.01 million), respectively. The internal rate of return and benefit cost ratio were estimated to be 55 percent and 5.48, respectively. This indicates that investment in chili R&D was profitable. The seed production program for BARI-Chilli-1 should be done to increase production by increasing its area of adoption.

This article confirms that climate change is indeed a real phenomenon as observed and experienced by smallholder farmers in the Molawin-Dampalit Sub-Watershed. Using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, the smallholder farmers articulated their own indications of climate change. These include increasing temperature, stronger and more frequent typhoons, excessive rainfall, drought, early rainy season, and delayed dry season. Among the effects of climate change on their agricultural production include stunted growth of crops, aborted fruiting of trees, incidence of pests and diseases, and growth of unknown weeds. These have led to increase in the use and dosage of farm inputs, particularly pesticides and fertilizers; decline in crop yield; and ultimately, decline in farm income. To cope with these impacts, the farmers employed strategies such as replanting, use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers to control pests and improve crop growth, pruning, watering and diversion of water source, changing crops, and harvesting their crops earlier to minimize crop loss. Considering the vulnerability of smallholder farmers, the results suggest the need to enhance their adaptive capacities for climate change impacts using a holistic approach via human capital development, improvement of physical capital, and building their social capital.