Agroclimatic regions in the Philippines

THE STUDY SEEKS TO IDENTIFY, MEASURE, AND TAKE ACCOUNT OF RELEVANT AGROCLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR PURPOSES OF BETTER UNDERSTANDING PROBLEMS OF INCREASING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT. IT DELINEATES AGROCLIMATIC REGIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES AND CHARACTERIZES THE REGIONAL PROFILES. A "REGION" IS MADE UP OF A GROUP OF PROVINCES THAT ARE NOT NECESSARILY CONTINGUOUS BUT ARE INTERNALLY HOMOGENEOUS WITH RESPECT TO A GIVEN SET OF AGROCLIMATIC VARIABLES. ALSO ADDRESSED IS THE QUESTION OF HOW THE REGIONAL GROUPINGS RELATE TO RICE PRODUCTIVITY. RICE WAS CHOSEN BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE AS A MAJOR FOOD CROP, BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT EMPHASIS ON THE RICE SECTOR AND THE AVAILABILITY OF DATA, BUT A SIMILAR ANALYSIS COULD BE MADE OF OTHER CROPS. THE VARIABLES EMPLOYED IN THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL INCLUDE RICE PRODUCTION, INPUT FACTORS, TECHNOLOGY VARIABLES, AN ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLE, AND A RANDOM ERROR TERM. TO DELINEATE VARIABLES, SIX SETS OF CRITERIA ARE DEFINED: LAND RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS, AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE, POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS, SOIL TYPES, RAINFALL, AND RICE PRODUCTIVITY (YIELD PER UNIT OF LAND). THE MODEL SHOWED THAT THE INTER-YEAR VARIABILITY IN LAND PRODUCTIVITY IS QUITE SUBSTANTIAL, AND THAT YEARLY CHANGES OVERSHADOW THE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES IN PRODUCTIVITY. AMONG THE AUTHOR"S CONCLUSIONS: THE MODEL WOULD WORK MORE PRECISELY IF BETTER INFORMATION COULD BE OBTAINED AT THE PROVINCIAL AND LOWER LEVELS.