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Analysis of Decision Models for Upland Soil Conservation in Argao, Cebu
Dissertation Abstract:
This study aimed to resolve the controversy on the relative importance of economic vs. non-economic factors as determinants of farmers' decision to adopt soil conservation technologies in the uplands at each stage of the decision-making process.
Three models, with perception (perception of soil erosion problem), adoption (adoption of soil conservation technologies), and conservation (investment in soil conservation structure) as dependent variables, were specified to capture the three stages of fanners' decision-making process, respectively. Four factors (social, institutional, physical, and economic) were used as explanatory variables in the three models.
Econometric models using ordinary least squares regression, binomial logit, and two-limit tobit were employed to generate the parameters ofthe three models, respectively. Tests of mean differences were done for the social, institutional. physical, and economic variables that were used in the study to characterize the adopter and non-adopter farmers.
Results revealed that adopter farmers were generally male, younger. more educated. better informed of soil erosion problems, and more optimistic about the yield benefits of soil conservation technologies. Cost and return analysis of their farm enterprises showed that adopter farmers, especially the early adopters, gained higher net return due to higher crop yield and lower use of fertilizer. Net return gap between tarmer groups further showed that non-adopters incurred significant amount of opportunity cost in terms of foregone net return from corn production due to non-adoption.
Analysis of the three decision models showed that institutional and physical factors (i.e .. training on soil and water conservation technologies, listening to agricultural programs in the radio, and farm size) were the most important variables in explaining differences in farmers' perception of soil erosion problem and the decision to adopt soil conserving technologies. On the other hand, economic and institutional factors (i.e., farm income and access to credit) were the more dominant factors in explaining variations in soil conservation investment. The relative importance of each factor category varied according to the stage of the decision process that the farmer faced.
Hence, this study supports both claims that economic and non-economic variables played important roles in the adoption process of soil conservation technologies. However. one needs to qualify the stage of the decision process the farmer is faced with. Specifically, in the initial stages of the adoption process, (i.e., the first and second stages, which represent perception of the soil erosion problem, and the decision on whether or not to adopt a soil conservation technology), the non-economic variables were the more dominant factors. On the other hand, in the final stage ofthe decision process, which determines the degree of conservation effort and amount of soil conservation investment farmers evaluated their adoption decision based on economic factors.