Resource use efficiency in intensive irrigated rice farms of Nueva Ecija (Philippines]
2000
Casiwan, C.B. | Gonzales, L.A. (Philippine Rice Research Inst., Maligaya, Munoz, Nueva Ecija (Philippines))
Descriptive analysis showed that fertilizer has a significant impact on productivity and profitability in rice production. Applying an average of 4.5 bags/ha of urea and 4 bags/ha of 14-14-14 during dry season (DS) and 2 bags of urea and 4 bags of 14-14-14 for WS [wet season] increased the net income by about P12,000/ha for DS and P3,000/ha for WS. Partial factor productivity analysis further showed that the contribution of indigenous supply to productivity is higher than the productivity attributed to the application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, which was only 16 kg palay/kg N for DS and 8 kg palay/kg N applied for WS. However, resource productivity analysis showed that N fertilizer, together with pre-harvest labor, pesticide, and other costs significantly affected yield variations. A 1% increase in N application increases the yield by as much as 0.22%. This indicates that at the point of estimation and based on mean yield and fertilizer application, a kg increase N fertilizer application results in an average of 9-10 kg increase in yield, other factors remaining constant. Also seen were significant differences in the soil quality among farmers' fields in terms of inherent nitrogen supply in the soil (INS), but no evidence was seen that farmers applied fertilizer rates based on a perceived condition of these soil quality levels. Yields from farms with high and low levels of INS differed significantly, but not in the N-P-K fertilizer application rates between the two land classes. Productivity attributed to the inherent soil quality differed significantly between farms with high and low INS levels, but not in the average productivity of applied N fertilizer. Regression analysis showed that INS levels in the farmers' fields had a significant effect on the efficiency of technology in intensive rice production systems as indicated by the positive significant coefficient of the INS dummy variable for the total plant N uptake in N-unfertilized plots. These results confirm that fertilizer has an important role in productivity and profitability of intensive rice farming
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