Abstract
The response of farmers to personalised forestry and agroforestry extension assistance has not been well documented in the Philippines, thus providing the impetus for this research in which the effectiveness of extended on-farm assistance was compared with more limited assistance. In four municipalities in Leyte Island, farmers responded positively to an extended program which helped them overcome problems in germinating and growing seedlings and establishing trees on their land. A limited assistance program which sought to make use of farmers’ familiarity with growing and raising plants was relatively unsuccessful, with less preparation of tree planting sites and a higher rate of abandonment. Allowing farmers freedom to select planting sites and aspects of technical advice which suited their personal circumstances, encouraged a high degree of cooperation between extension staff and farmers, but 38% of farmers neglected post-planting weed control and 35% of sites were inappropriate for growing trees. Destruction of sites by flooding and grazing also caused farmers to blame extension staff even though these risks had been discussed with them beforehand. This suggested that a more interventionist approach would be appropriate for site selection although it may reduce recruitment. The number of farmers recruited through local government staff was low, but attendance by neighbours at locally held demonstrations was high, suggesting an avenue for further recruitment. Overall, the program was successful in shifting the initiative for further planting from extension staff to those farmers who received extended extension assistance.
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Notes
A barangay is the smallest unit of local government in the Philippines, and is equivalent to a village.
Fire is a major cause of loss of planted forest in the Philippines, deliberate burning of grassland or rice straw often leading to fire escape into the forests (Dart et al. 2001).
River banks are susceptible to flooding during typhoons and young seedlings particularly are liable to be washed away.
The central Philippines is affected by severe typhoons with a frequency for any particular area of one in every 3–4 years (Dart et al. 2001). Sites which are situated adjacent to rice fields are prone to typhoon damage because the water table is high for most of the year and trees do not develop deep roots.
The overall range of farmer’s ages was 35–74.
The standard deviation of the means was 16, 32 and 41 cm, respectively.
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Baynes, J., Herbohn, J. & Russell, I. Bringing Agroforestry Technology to Farmers in Leyte, the Philippines: A Comparison of Two Extension Assistance Regimes. Small-scale Forestry 8, 381–398 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-009-9090-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11842-009-9090-6