Adoption and economic viability of the sloping agricultural land technology on small upland farms, Eastern Visayas, Philippines

SALT was introduced, on an organized basis, on the island of Leyte, the Philippines, by the Farming Systems Development Project - Eastern Visayas (FSDP-EV) in 1983. Several agencies and organizations are trying to encourage further diffusion of this technology on Leyte. This study was undertaken to evaluate the economic viability of SALT and the factors influencing its adoption. Research data were collected using three different surveys. The first, the Technology Assessment Survey, interviewed 154 farmers (78 SALT adopters and 76 non-adopters) to develop a socioeconomic profile of the farmers and their assessment of SALT. The second, the Weekly Data Survey, collected farm input/output data from 84 farmers (43 adopters and 41 non-adopters) on a weekly basis for about 6 months. The third, the Contour/Hedgerow Budget Survey, collected data from 36 adopters to develop cost estimates for the establishment and maintenance of SALT. The estimated cost of establishing SALT was P368 (P344 for seeds, P24 for other material and P179 for labor). Additionally, 8.6 work-days per year were required to maintain it. The largest expense item was the cost of seeds. According to the Weekly Data Survey, the required labor was easily available to all the farmers. The benefits of SALT, i.e., the control of soil erosion and enhancing soil fertility, are realized over a period of time. To measure these changes, longitudinal data on crop yields, soil nutrient contents, and the extent of erosion control would be required. Hence, a complete economic analysis could not be done due to the lack of this data. Most adopters reported no difficulties in implementing SALT. Major problems reported by adopters in maintaining SALT included, the psyllid infestation of Leucaena hedgerows, labor needs of SALT, and the difficulties of working around (weeding and plowing) the hedgerows. Lack of seeds was given as the primary reason for not expanding the area under SALT. A majority of the adopters had less than 0.5 hectares of land initially under SALT. Reasons for not adopting SALT include, unfamiliarity with SALT, lack of seeds, the labor requirement of SALT, and potential difficulty of working around the hedgerows. The non-adopters were favorably predisposed towards SALT. About 57% of the non-adopters indicated willingness to adopt SALT if they could receive seeds and technical guidance. A probit model was developed to evaluate the impact of different variables on the adoption of SALT. An offer of assistance to implement the SALT was the highly significant variable. According to this model, the farm size, age and education of the head of the household, number of work-age children, and the farm income did not significantly impact the adoption of SALT. Increasing farmers" awareness of the dangers of soil erosion, offering TA to farmers to construct the hedgerows, and having seeds or planting material available to the farmers would greatly enhance the diffusion of SALT on Leyte. Since the lack of Leucaena seeds and the psyllid infestation were mentioned as the critical factors in the adoption of SALT, an organized seed program to produce seeds of psyllid-resistant varieties of Leucaena is vital to the process. (Author abstract)