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Assessing the sustainability of cacao production in Davao Region, Philippines
Thesis Abstract:
Continuously increasing global demand for cacao products serves as an opportunity for the emerging cacao industry in the Philippines. Catching up with the market demands led to conventional intensification, raising environmental burdens on cacao production systems. This study identified the opportunities that could potentially improve the sustainability of cacao production in Davao Region, the largest producing area in the Philippines. Personal interview of 271 cacao farmers selected through stratified random sampling was performed. The sustainability indicators which farmers deemed most important were identified using the choice experiment approach. The attributes long-run profit, reduced reliance on purchased inputs, cash flow sufficiency, moderate physical stress, lessened health risks, enhanced product quality, attractiveness of the farm, surface water quality, agro-biodiversity, and improved air quality were found important features of sustainability among farmers. The effects of intrinsic and economic factors towards the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) were explored through a two-stage modeling. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Model captures the unobservable intrinsic variables and its impacts towards farmers' intention to adopt SAPs. Multivariate Probit model measured the likelihood of SAP adoption. From the estimation, age, sex, predicted intention, education, farm experience, income, trainings, memberships, irrigation, and land ownership were the significant factors.