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Journal of Community Development Research (Humanities and Social Sciences), 12, 3, 47-60

Conservation agriculture involves minimum soil disturbance, continuous ground cover, and diversified crop rotations or mixtures. Conservation agriculture production systems (CAPS) have the potential to improve soil quality if appropriate cropping systems are developed. In this study, five CAPS including different cropping patterns and cover crops under two fertility levels, and a plow-based system as control, were studied in a typical upland agricultural area in northern Mindanao in the Philippines. Results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) at 0- 5-cm depth for all CAPS treatments generally increased with time while SOC under the plow-based system tended to decline over time for both the high (120, 60 and 60 kg N P K ha -1 ) and moderate (60-30-30 kg N P K ha -1 ) fertility levels. The cropping system with maize + Stylosanthes guianensis in the first year followed by Stylosanthes guianensis and fallow in the second year, and the cassava + Stylosanthes guianensis exhibited the highest rate of SOC increase for high and moderate fertility levels, respectively. After one, two, and three cropping seasons, plots under CAPS had significantly higher soil residual water content (RWC) than under plow-based systems. Results of this study suggest that conservation agriculture has a positive impact on soil quality, while till systems negatively impact soil characteristics.

Over recent years, economic development, policy changes, new technologies and population growth have been motivating farmers in Thailand to intensify and commercialize their production activities. As part of this agricultural commercialization and intensification process, Thai upland farmers have adapted their farming practices to increase crop production and productivity levels. This thesis clearly demonstrates that there is a positive relationship between land use intensification/commercialization and the use of chemical-based pest management activities, i.e. farmers have increasingly relied on the use of chemicals for the protection of their crops. As part of the agricultural intensification and commercialization process, concerns about the potentially negative impact of pesticide use is often downplayed, while the benefits of pesticide use in terms of improved crop returns ignore the indirect costs they also incur. This has also led to a situation in which local farmers do not always use pesticides in an appropriate way; they tend to overuse and misuse the chemicals, to avoid losses among their high-value crops. Due to farmers’ limited awareness of and lack of protection against the potential dangers inherent in chemical pesticide use, they still use pesticides which contain cheap compounds such as the herbicides Paraquat and Glyphosate. The application of these chemicals is restricted in a number of other countries, but these represent two of the three most commonly used pesticides in the study area. The survey described here sought to provide evidence that agricultural commercialization in Thailand over recent years has led to a reduction in the variety of pest management practices applied, and that many Thai farmers have become completely dependent on the use of agrochemicals, expecting that this approach will fully prevent any losses in crop yields. In this context, it can be observed that farmers have become locked into using chemical pest control methods, creating a situation in which attempting to control one risk through the increasingly heavy and exclusive use of pesticides, has led to a number of other, new risks developing. This research also reveals that market prices, pests and diseases have become the dominant risks affecting farm performance within the Thai commercial farm sector, while among Thai subsistence farmers the loss of family labor is of key concern. The farmers in the study area have a variety of attitudes towards risk, and differences in expected rates of return influence the types of risk protection tools used. The findings show that agricultural commercialization is associated with a rapid adoption of synthetic pesticides and an exponential growth in the quantity of pesticides applied per hectare. As the risk management strategies used by commercial farmers are mostly aimed at crop protection, they use large quantities of synthetic pesticides to manage crop pests and diseases. The present research also finds that the effectiveness of pesticide use increases significantly as levels of commercialization increase. Pesticide use is perceived as increasingly useful in this process, being considered an essential factor for raising agricultural output and farm income. However, there is a need to pay more attention to the potentially adverse effects of pesticide use on human health and the environment and to improve producers’ level of understanding of the risks involved in pesticide use, which will help them make better decisions regarding the risks and consequences involved. A number of studies have suggested that pesticide regulations in Thailand should be better enforced, that consumer demand for certified products should be encouraged, and that training on food safety should be offered to farmers. The Thai government has reacted to these calls by introducing policies and projects aimed at the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices; however, these policies have not been promoted effectively, and so have not fixed the core problem. The Q-GAP program is a good example of this. This thesis reveals that Thai upland farmers still do not understand the logic behind the program introduced, and so lack any motivation to follow sustainable farming practices. This situation is made worse by the lack of any effective program implementation and follow-up activities, such as farm auditing. The Q-GAP program has been implemented with a strong focus on farm auditing and residue testing, and little focus on the positive consequences of a reduction in pesticide use levels. The program also does not provide farmers with suitable alternatives to manage their pest problems. Certified farmers continue to almost entirely depend on synthetic pest control. In principle, under the program farmers are encouraged to practice integrated pest management (IPM) methods in order to achieve Q-GAP certification. But it was found that a considerable number of farmers were not familiar with the term IPM and have a limited understanding of the approach. IPM offers alternative pest management methods to farmers and also takes into account traditional pest control methods, not just the use of pesticides. Therefore it could have a positive role to play in helping to reduce pesticide use. However, in reality, the promotion of integrated pest management methods is not enough in isolation. As this thesis shows by means of an ex-ante assessment of pesticide use reduction strategies with the MPMAS simulation package, the use of a combination of measures, such as the promotion of IPM through financial adoption incentives combined with the introduction of a sizeable sales tax on pesticides, could lead to a very substantial reduction in pesticide use – by up to 34% on current levels, without adversely effecting general farm income levels. Thus, policymakers should promote alternative pesticide use reduction strategies by combining pesticide taxation with the introduction of integrated pest management methods, the application of a price premium on safe agricultural produce or the introduction of subsidies for bio-pesticides. Furthermore, there is a need to raise farmers awareness about pesticide risks and to increase investment in the diffusion of integrated pest management practices. Thai upland farmers might be willing to introduce more sustainable agricultural methods if they were to fully understand the consequences of pesticide use on their health and the environment, as well as know more about the biology, behaviors and physiology of the pests themselves. Building knowledge is critical in this regard. To achieve this, there needs to be more interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers, plus more policy options introduced to support farmers in their transition to a more market-oriented production environment. Wirtschaftliche Entwicklung, politischer Wandel, die Verfügbarkeit neuer Technologien und ein rasantes Bevölkerungswachstum haben zur Intensivierung und Kommerzialisierung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion in Thailand beigetragen. Als Teil dieses Prozesses haben die thailändischen Bergbauern ihre Anbaupraktiken angepasst um Produktion und Produktivität zu steigern. Diese Forschungsarbeit zeigt eindeutig, dass ein positiver Zusammenhang zwischen der Intensivierung der Landnutzung und dem Einsatz chemisch ausgerichteter Schädlingsbekämpfungsmaßnahmen besteht. Kleinbauern in Thailand verlassen sich in zunehmendem Masse auf synthetische Pflanzenschutzmittel. Im Verlauf der landwirtschaftlichen Intensivierung und Kommerzialisierung werden Bedenken über die negativen Auswirkungen des hohen Pestizideinsatzes oftmals heruntergespielt, während bei der Bewertung des Nutzens für Ernteerträge die externen Kosten vernachlässigt werden. Mitunter auf Grund dieser Situation verwenden die Bauern vor Ort Pestizide auf unangemessene Weise. Übernutzung und fälschlicher Gebrauch sind weit verbreitet um Ernteausfälle bei Kulturpflanzen von hohem Produktionswert zu vermeiden. Die Bergbauern, welche die Pestizide regelmäßig einsetzen, steigern stetig die ausgebrachten Mengen. Auf Grund des begrenzten Bewusstseins gegenüber und trotz des Mangels an Schutz vor den potenziellen Gefahren der Pestizidnutzung, kommen billige toxische Präparate, wie Paraquat und Glyphosat, häufig zum Einsatz. Wohingegen die Anwendung dieser Chemikalien in anderen Ländern reglementiert und beschränkt ist, gehören Sie im Untersuchungsgebiet zu den meist verwendeten Pestiziden. Die für diese Arbeit durchgeführte Umfrage weist nach, dass die Kommerzialisierung der Landwirtschaft in Thailand in den vergangenen Jahren die Vielfalt der verwendeten Schädlingsbekämpfungsmaßnahmen verringert hat und dass viele Bauern in Thailand sich ausschließlich auf den Einsatz von Agrochemikalien verlassen. Dies geschieht in der Erwartung dadurch Ernteausfälle vollständig vermeiden zu können. In diesem Zusammenhang, ist ein sogenannter „Lock-In-Effekt“ zu beobachten. Dabei entsteht eine Situation, in der die eigentliche Kontrolle von Risiken durch verstärkten und heftigen Pestizideinsatz eine Reihe anderer Risiken mit sich bringt. Durch diese Forschungsarbeit tritt zutage, dass in der kommerziellen Landwirtschaft in Nordthailand neben Marktpreisen, Schädlinge und Pflanzenkrankheiten zu den bestimmenden Risikofaktoren für die Leistungsfähigkeit kleinbäuerlicher Betriebe gehören. Für Subsistenzbauern spielt das Risiko Arbeitskräfte zu verlieren eine Schlüsselrolle. Die Bauern, die Teil dieser Untersuchung sind, weisen eine Vielzahl an Einstellungen und Schutzmechanismen gegenüber Risiken auf. Diese werden vom zu erwarteten jeweiligen Betriebsergebnis beeinflusst. Anhand der Untersuchungsergebnisse wird ersichtlich, dass die Kommerzialisierung der Landwirtschaft mit einer rasanten Übernahme synthetischer Spritzmittel und einem exponentiellen Anstieg der pro Hektar ausgebrachten Pestizidmengen einhergeht. Da Strategien des Risikomanagements der kommerziell orientierten Betriebe hauptsächlich zur Vorsorge gegen Pflanzenschäden dienen, werden dort große Mengen von Spritzmitteln eingesetzt. Die vorliegende Forschungsarbeit stellt fest, dass die Wirkung des Pestizideinsatzes sich erhöht mit dem Grad an Kommerzialisierung. Im Verlauf der Kommerzialisierung werden Spritzmittel von den befragten Bauern als zunehmend nützlich und als unentbehrlicher Faktor für steigende Erträge und Einkommen betrachtet. Es ist jedoch von Nöten, dass auch Gesundheits- und Umweltaspekte vermehrt berücksichtigt werden. Das Verständnis der Produzenten bezüglich der Risiken, welche die Nutzung von Pestiziden mit sich bringt, kann dabei helfen die mit der Nutzung verbundenen Risiken und Konsequenzen auf ausgewogenere Weise zu betrachten. Etliche Studien legen nahe, dass Vorschriften zu Pestiziden in Thailand besser durchgesetzt, die Verbrauchernachfrage nach zertifizierten Erzeugnissen gestärkt und Schulungen für Bauern zu Lebensmittelsicherheit und Handhabung von Pestiziden angeboten werden sollten. Die thailändische Regierung hat auf diese Forderungen mit der Einführung politischer Maßnahmen und mit gezielten Projekten zur Förderung nachhaltiger Anbaupraktiken reagiert. Diese wurden jedoch nicht mit Nachdruck vorangetrieben und konnten bisher das Kernproblem nicht beheben. Der von der Regierung eingeführte Q-GAP Standard ist ein Beleg dafür. Diese Dissertation offenbart, dass den Bergbauern in Nordthailand die Logik der Vielzahl an Programmen oftmals schwer verständlich ist. Dies wird durch die mangelnde Effektivität der Umsetzung und des Monitorings, wie z.B. der Betriebsprüfung, verschlimmert. Der Q-GAP Standard wurde mit einem Schwerpunkt auf Betriebsprüfung und Rückstandsanalyse ins Leben gerufen, wobei die betriebliche Reduzierung des Spritzmitteleinsatzes und die damit verbundenen positiven Effekte zu wenig Bedeutung erhalten. Der Standard bietet den Landwirten keine geeigneten Alternativen zur Schädlingsbekämpfung an. Zertifizierte Betriebe verlassen sich nach wie vor fast ausschließlich auf synthetische Pflanzenschutzmittel. Im Prinzip werden Bauern dazu ermutigt für die Erlangung der Zertifizierung integrierten Pflanzenschutz (IPM) zu praktizieren. Aus der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde jedoch ersichtlich, dass der Begriff IPM und der damit verbundene Ansatz zur Schädlingsbekämpfung vielen mit dem Standard versehenen Bauern unbekannt ist. Unter Berücksichtigung traditioneller und anderer Pflanzenschutzmethoden bietet IPM den Bauern eine Vielzahl an Schädlingsbekämpfungsalternativen zur ausschließlichen Pestizidnutzung und könnte somit zur Reduzierung des Spritzmitteleinsatzes beitragen. Die Verfügbarkeit von IPM für kleinbäuerliche Betriebe allein ist allerdings nicht ausreichend. Im Rahmen dieser Forschungsarbeit wurde mit dem Agenten-basierten Simulationsmodell MPMAS eine Evaluierung verschiedener Nachhaltigkeitsstrategien durchgeführt. Diese zeigt, inwiefern es möglich ist durch ein Maßnahmenbündel aus Einführung von IPM Praktiken, Pestizidsteuer, gestaffelt nach Toxizität, und finanziellen Anreizen zur Übernahme von IPM das Niveau des Spritzmitteleinsatzes in der Landwirtschaft in Nordthailand erheblich zu senken. Gemäß den Simulationsergebnissen kann eine Reduktion von bis zu 34% erreicht werden, ohne dass dadurch das allgemeine Einkommensniveau der Agenten negativ beeinträchtigt wird. Entscheidungsträger sollten eine nachhaltigere Landwirtschaft durch ein Bündel aus Reduktionsmaßnahmen fördern. Zudem besteht die Notwendigkeit das Bewusstsein der Bauern bezüglich der Risiken des verstärkten Pestizideinsatzes zu schärfen und Investitionen in die Verbreitung von integrierten Schädlingsbekämpfungsmethoden zu erhöhen. Es gilt das Wissen der Bauern über die gesundheitlichen und ökologischen Konsequenzen des übermäßigen Pestizideinsatzes auszubauen, ebenso wie deren Wissen über die Biologie und das Verhalten von Schädlingen. Um dies zu erreichen, muss, neben den richtigen Impulsen aus der Politik, welchen einen Übergang zur einer nachhaltigen marktorientierten Landwirtschaft erlauben, das Zusammenspiel von Forschung, landwirtschaftlicher Beratung und kleinbäuerlichen Betrieben erleichtert werden.

In this article, the authors discuss the impact of trade policy reforms and related policies on land allocation between several crops in an agricultural economy, with a focus on the degree of erosion caused by different crop types. The prediction of land use changes is complicated by the influence of the world market on agricultural exports and the policy distortions at the national level. Likewise, shifts in the agricultural sectors may have economy-wide repercussions through the factor and commodities markets. The authors quantify and evaluate the probable impacts of tariff reduction with an applied general equilibrium model in Sri Lanka. They also analyze the economic and environmental impact of technical progress in the cultivation of tea, a major agricultural export. Both lowering tariffs and enhancing technical progress increase the amount of land allocated to tea, which is environmentally and economically beneficial to Sri Lanka because tea is less erosive than most alternative crops.

Decisions made by farmers involve complex interaction and feedback system, particularly, in the economy and the natural environment. Their decision-makings may have significant influences beyond the farm boundary. This is more so when considering the farmers at the mountainous area in monsoon Asia because their agricultural practices at the upland have potential impacts on deforestation, soil degradation and erosion. The Upper Solo River watershed in Central Jawa, Indonesia, is our study area where rain-fed paddy and maize-cassava farming system are commonly practiced. High population density and constant demand for food crops put pressure on deforestation and mountainous cultivation, thereby resulting in high soil erosion. This soil erosion deteriorates reservoir sedimentation at the downstream Wonogiri reservoir. Wonogiri reservoir has already lost 25% of its useful capacity in the last 30 years. Appropriate agricultural practices are needed to mitigate soil erosion while increasing upland farmers’ income. Perennial crop such as clove is still underdeveloped even thought their cash income mainly comes clove productions. This paper analyzes famers’ decision making in land use, and examine the constraints of perennial crop development. Our simulation results indicate that the shift in land use from annual to perennial cropping system is expected to increase farm income in the long-run. The results also show that optimal timing and amount of investment into clove trees are considerably delayed and reduced when the financial liquidity is constrained.

In Vietnam, a quasi private property regime has been established in 1993 with the issuance of exchangeable and mortgageable long term land use right certificates. Using primary qualitative and quantitative data collected in a mountainous district of Northern Vietnam, this paper investigates the role of the land policy in the adoption of soil conservation technologies by farmers. This issue is of crucial importance in the region where population growth and growing market demands have induced farmers to intensify agricultural production. While poverty has been reduced, environmental problems such as soil erosion, landslides, and declining soil fertility have become more severe over the past years. Among the abundant literature on the impact of property rights and formal land titles in developing countries, only a few studies have focused on the adoption of soil conservation technologies: an important element in sustainable development strategies of fragile agro-ecological areas confronted with increasing population densities. Our findings suggest that soil conservation technologies are perceived as being economically unattractive; therefore, most upland farmers continue to practice the prevailing erosion-prone cultivation system. Focusing on agroforestry as one major soil conservation option, we estimate household and plot level econometric models to empirically assess the determinants of adoption. We find that the possession of a formal land title influences adoption, but that the threat of land re-allocations in villages discourages adoption by creating uncertainty and tenure insecurity. We conclude that more efforts are needed from decision-makers to promote and support the adoption of conservation practices and to clarify objectives of the land policy in order to secure land tenure and foster sustainable development in fragile areas.

Agricultural growth in uplands of tropical developing countries is associated with deforestation, land degradation, and diminished watershed function. Using time-series price data from an upland Philippine watershed, we examine market integration and quantify product market links through which policy and macroeconomic shocks-including instability from the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98-are transmitted to farm gate prices. If market-driven incentives dominate farmers' decisions, then our results indicate the desirability of using a broader range of policy instruments to address upland problems, and the need for upland projects to devote increased attention to national-level information dissemination and policy advocacy. (JEL Q11, Q23)

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This study deals with the Kinh (or Viet) majority people who have migrated from the lowland Red River Delta to the mountainous areas of northern Viet Nam, and their adjustment to a new social and physical environment. Its aim is to analyse the social and cultural consequences for these migrants when settling in communities populated with people who belong to the national ethnic minorities (the Tày, the Giay and the Ngan peoples). Focus is on impacts in new interactive situations. The case is a special one in that it focuses on majority people's adaptation to minorities, and to a lesser extent vice versa. The Kinhs' view of how a "civilised" landscape ought to look like and how to utilise the natural resources therein demonstrated to be a central theme when discussing restructuring of the migrants' livelihood. This fact indicates the cultural dimension in the exploitation of the natural landscape and the reconstruction of the subsistence system. In the process of adaptation to a new social environment (as well as to a new physical one), social interactions between the Kinh and the ethnic minorities have proven to be important steps towards integration. One factor that turned out to be decisive in the integration process is the harmonising of life cycle ceremonies (especially weddings and funerals) between the Kinh and the minorities. New knowledge is accumulated locally, based on pooled experience. The study concerns how new knowledge on natural resources management is formed through a mixture of the migrants' knowledge from the Red River Delta and the minorities' knowledge of the local area. With a background in the delta area the Kinh brought the old knowledge of advanced wet rice production with them when migrating to the highlands. The facts show that the influence on the subsistence system has not been a one-way flow. That is, not only has the Kinh changed the minorities' agriculture system, but also the minorities' systems have had an impact on the Kinhs' system so that it now is more adapted to the conditions in the highlands.

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Economic growth and environmental damage are associated, but the relationship is neither linear nor even monotonic. This is clearly seen in the diverse experiences of tropical Asian economies over recent decades. The nature of the growth–environment link depends on the changing composition of production and on growth-related changes in techniques and environmental policies; the enforcement of property rights over natural resources and over air and water quality is another important element. Moreover, environmental and economic policies interact: in effect, every economic policy that affects resource allocation is a de facto environmental measure. One important implication is that the environmental consequences of major policy shifts, such as the ‘globalisation’ of many tropical Asian economies since about 1980, have been profound. The analytical literature on growth and the environment in Asia tends to agree that environmental damage is costly to regional economies, and has begun to identify and quantify some of the many causal linkages now recognised between economic development and the valuation and use of environmental and natural resource assets.

In the inter-Andean valleys of northern Ecuador, irrigation systems have long been used to minimize drought risk and secure the production of food crops during dry periods. However, not all Andean communities have access to irrigation water. Increasing population pressure has forced many peasant farmers to move higher up the volcanic slopes and cultivate more marginal land under rainfed conditions. In the SANREM CRSP research site of Cotacachi, local community members and officials of the local water authorities (juntas de agua) have been seeking to expand existing irrigation systems to a wider area. University of GeorgiaÕs researchers Franz Zehetner and Bill Miller analyzed the potential benefits to crop production that such expansion could bring about in different zones of the Cotacachi area that currently do not have access to irrigation water. The scientists used crop growth modeling to quantify the improvement of wet-season and dry-season maize production that would occur if irrigation water was available.

Metadata only record This paper evaluates the economic and environmental impacts of four types of policy changes that aim to enhance sustainability of upland farming. The policies assessed are either local, national or a coordinated national and local effort. Using an optimization-simulation model, the authors assess and compare policies that (1) change land use by placing local restrictions on vegetable growing, (2) require soil conservation measures to be installed and provide lump subsidy payment (local policy), (3) place a national 20 % tax on vegetable production, and (4) incorporate national and local levels, using the tax revenue to subsidize soil conservation structures.

Metadata only record Farmers intending to intercrop timber need to be able to make informed decisions about tree species and planting density, with a full understanding of the tradeoffs they are facing. A model with understandable parameters and functions "a simplified version of the complex models used by researchers" would greatly increase farmers capacity to obtain optimal benefits from intercropping. Studies in an upland region of the Philippines measure growth and intercropping tradeoffs for three popular timber species (Eucalyptus deglupta, E. torelliana, and Paraserianthes falcataria). The experiment results showed a strong negative correlation between crop yield and stand basal area. The authors discuss reasons why stand basal area may be the best indicator for use by farmers to evaluate competition between trees and crops and tradeoffs that effect their farming profitability.

Metadata only record The timber scarcity in the Philippines has created a market demand that is providing incentive for upland farmers to plant timber species either in all-tree stands or intercropped with annual vegetables. This paper assesses the role this volunteer tree planting may have in meeting national tree-planting goals. A study in Lantapan, Bukidnon Province applied a bioeconomic model to compare the viability of annual crops and timber crops and intercropped systems. The results suggest tree crops yield higher returns when there are constraints on fertility, labor and capital, and that intercropped systems generate higher annual returns than mono-cropped systems. The authors conclude that upland agroforestry should be encouraged through disseminating information on best management practices and removing inhibitors such as harvest restrictions and insecure land tenure. They support redirecting funds for public planting of fast-growing trees toward protecting complex forests.

Metadata only record This paper examines the impacts that growth in nonfarm job opportunities may have on agricultural practices in the Philippine uplands. One possible scenario is that the increased opportunity cost of farm labor would decrease the use of labor-intensive cultivation. However, this could also cause decrease the use of labor-intensive conservation techniques. The authors use the upland of the Manupali watershed in Bukidnon, Philippines to assess these potential impacts. They find that nonfarm job growth will have the positive long term net impacts on the upland environment. However, they suggest that it is still necessary to support this trend with appropriate agricultural and environmental policies.

Economic growth and environmental damage are associated, but the relationship is neither linear nor even monotonic. The nature of the growth-environment link depends on the changing composition of production and consumption and on growth-related changes in techniques and environmental policies. The definition and enforcement of property rights over natural resources and environmental quality is another important element. Moreover, environmental and economic policies interact: in effect, every economic policy that affects resource allocation is a de facto environmental measure. In increasingly commercialized and decentralized economies, the responsibility for environmental management and the design and implementation of environmental policy are shifting from central government to communities and local administrations. This is especially true of Asia's uplands, where market-driven pressures for agricultural expansion and intensification collide with an increasingly urgent need to manage the natural resource base and minimize local and external environmental damages associated with growth. This paper provides a brief survey of these issues as a way of introducing the papers in this special issue of the Philippine Journal of Development on the local management of agricultural and natural resources and the environment. It concludes with some remarks on the experience of the SANREM-CRSP/Southeat Asia, a research and outreach project aimed at enabling better resource and environmental management decisions by upland communities in the Philippines, and the sponsor of these papers.

Metadata only record This paper addresses the interactions between development policies and upland agriculture expansion with a model of household-level responses to economic and technical factors, based on characteristics of the household and farming system. The authors assess the validity of the model with data from farm households in the region bordering the Mt Kitanglad Range National Park in southern Mindanao, using results of surveying low income corn and vegetable farms. Crop prices and productivity influenced land allocation within a farm, though the different crops generated different influences. Crops were expanded primarily through land substitution and increased input levels, but when prices or productivity of other crops changed, the expansion occurred in the total farm area. The constraints of land and family labor also have varying influences for different crops. The complex interactions and influences of different factors and policies suggest that environmental policies must correspondingly include multiple conditions if they are to effectively mitigate incentives for land expansion.

Metadata only record This paper investigates the relationship of agricultural employment and land use choices in upland tropical forest margins. The author combines models of lowland agricultural production and upland farm labor allocation to study the influence of labor productivity, agricultural wages, and economic returns on deforestation rates. Data collected from Philippine farms shows that adoption of lowland irrigation increased labor demand, providing employment to upland residents, and thus causing a small (but statistically significant) reduction in deforestation rates.

Do the most promising policies to promote sustainable upland farming originate at the local or national level? Will coordination of local and national efforts produce better outcomes? Using a optimization-simulation model of the Manupali watershed in the Philippines we address these issues by comparing the economic and environmental effects of four sets of stylized policy changes: (1) local policies that restrict some forms of land use; (2) local attempts to subsidize environment-friendly technologies; (3) a crop-specific tax levied on vegetable producers; and (4) a hybrid approach that seeks to coordinate local technology initiatives with broader-based incentives rooted in pricing policy. We study the economic and environmental impacts of these stylized policy changes over a 10- year time horizon.

Using a panel data (1994-1999) of upland corn farmers' production and soil conservation practices, this paper investigates the influence of farmers' technical and ecological knowledge on their technical efficiency (TE). TE was derived from two types of translog production frontiers where the first equation did not include environmental factors as independent variables and the second did. In the first function, it was assumed that the farms faced the same environment thus, it measures production efficiency as influenced by both management and environment. In the second function, farms are assumed to face different environmental conditions, thus, measuring the technical efficiency due to crop management alone. The difference between the two efficiency measures of farms would then account for the influence of environmental factors.

The Province of Bukidnon in north-central Mindanao is the largest of Region X and the eight largest in the country sits on the 829,378 hectares of land that comprises the watersheds of six of the islands major river catchments. Economic endeavors of its people, particularly those occupying its watersheds, have caused significant degradation of the environment and natural resource base. Despite threats of natural calamities, the drive to earn and generate subsistence livelihood prevails. The Provincial Government, which is aware and concerned about these trends, welcomes the decentralization of natural resource management through the Local Government Code of 1991. Several approaches have been put in place to ensure that problems attendant to socio-economic development can be appropriately addressed.

Soil erosion coupled with productivity decline is considered a major constraint to sustainable vegetable production in Southeast Asian steeplands, yet soil conservation technologies acceptable to vegetable growers have not been developed. Effectiveness of high-value contour hedgerows species [(Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.), pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.), pigeon peas (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.), lemon grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud.) Wats.), and tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze)] on control of steepland erosion was evaluated in a replicated researcher-managed field experiment, and 12 farmer-managed erosion-runoff plots from 1995 to 1998 across the landscape of the Manupali watershed in Mindanao, the Philippines. Annual soil loss from 42% slopes with superimposed researcher-managed high-value contour hedgerows treatment (45.4 Mg ha−1) was lower by 30% compared to the conventional practice of up-and-down cultivation (65.3 Mg ha−1). Annual soil loss measured in farmers’ plots ranged from 1.4 Mg ha−1 to 52.5 Mg ha−1 on slopes ranging from 16 to 65%. Soil pH, organic C, total-N, and P downslope were greater by 7, 28, 13, and 10%, respectively, compared to upslope. Total-N, organic C, soil pH, Mg, and K measured at the end of the experiment in the researcher-managed contour hedgerows plots were lower by 45, 20, 30, 53, and 70%, respectively, compared to initial values. The Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) model was used to assess the effects of annual cropping sequences under a contour hedgerow system on slopes ranging from 15 to 65%. The cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.)-tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)-cabbage sequence (the first crop planted in January) resulted in an average simulated annual soil loss of 28.1 Mg ha−1across slope ranging from 15 to 65%, whereas tomato-cabbage-tomato resulted in an annual simulated soil loss of 98.3 Mg ha−1. The cropping sequence of tomato-cabbage-tomato lost 3.0 Mg ha−1 more soil at 15% slope than did the cabbage-tomato-cabbage sequence, while at 65% slope, the tomato-cabbage-tomato sequence lost 181.2 Mg ha−1 more than the other sequence. On average, two-thirds of the total soil loss occurred during September–December. In order to reduce soil loss and increase productivity in steep sloping lands, high-value contour hedgerows with sequential cropping sequences that include either corn (Zea mays L.) or cabbage rather than tomato during the most erosive period of the year and variable fertility management strategies along the slope positions are suggested. The coincidence of predicted to actual soil loss from farmer-managed plots, based largely upon model development from researcher-managed plots, and the acute awareness instilled amongst farmer cooperators of the magnitude of soil loss, strengthen the argument for farmer participatory research.

The papers contained in this book were presented during a Special Session at the 16th Symposium of the International Farming Systems Association and the 4th Latin American Farming Systems Research and Extension Symposium, which was held at the Universidad Catolica, Santiago, Chile from November 27 to 29, 2000. The theme of the meeting was "Globalization and Local Development: Challenges to Small Scale Production." The papers included in this book focus on community-based natural resource decision making that has resulted from SANREM activities in the Andes, Southeast Asia and West Africa. Each paper offers examples of community-based approaches that address natural resource

Metadata only record This paper applies a dynamic model to examine the incentives and consumption risks associated with investments in soil conservation for small hillside farms in the Philippines. The author compares model results with observed data on soil conservation practices. The model results predict consumption risks for small farms lead to inefficient adoption of soil conservation practices, which aligns with the observed trends in soil conservation; adoption patterns are strongly influenced by the risk of the conservation technique, the relative risk vulnerability of individual farms, and the farm size.