Choice of rice crop establishment technique : transplanting vs wet seeding

Wet seeding does have a cost advantage over transplanting, due to its labor-saving bias. While adoption of wet seeding has been increasing, the majority of rice farmers still practice transplanting. In effect, farmers who transplant spend more to produce the same amount of rice. The study uses a profit probability model to identify the factors that influence a farmer"s crop establishment choice. The analysis indicated that supervision of hired labor, cost of transplanting labor, use of credit, costs of fertilizer and herbicide, and selling price of rough rice are significant determinants of the crop establishment choice of irrigated rice farmers in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. (Author abstract)