Variations of factors affecting rice productivity in Central Luzon, Philippines

Abstract

Factors affecting rice productivity in Central Luzon, Philippines, among four classes of level, namely Class A — fully irrigated, Class B — partially irrigated, Class C — lowland rainfed, and Class D — upland rainfed, are examined in this study. An attempt is made to identify the ajor underlying dimensions of rice productivity and to ascertain the set of postulated factors that best determines variations associated with rice productivity. While principal-axes factor analysis is applied to isolate the underlying dimensions associated with rice productivity for 200 farms, stepwise multiple regression analysis is employed to determine which among the thirty-eight hypothesized variables have the strongest influence in accounting for variations associated with rice productivity in Central Luzon.

The results showed that the economic and institutional factors accounted for most of the variations in rice productivity among the four classes of farms. Whereas the economic variables were concerned with the amount and manner in which economic inputs were used and with the amount of fixed asset in rice production, the institutional factors were focused mainly on membership in the government rice production program and the amount of loan available to farmer members.