Institutional arrangements in cutflower post production systems modernization in selected communities of La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

Results of the study showed that majority of the cutflower growers were inclined to subscribe to more modern postproduction arrangements on technology use, labor use and marketing. While modern arrangements were predominant, traditional arrangements were also evident. This was particularly noted in marketing where only the FG [formal group] employed modern arrangements. Both the IG [informal group] and NG [no organizational affiliation] still subscribed to the traditional schemes. In general, institutional arrangements in cutflower production were combinations of the modern and traditional patterns. The nature and pattern of institutional arrangements in cutflower postproduction were related to the growers' group affiliation. Significant and direct associations were obtained with the pattern of technology use and marketing. The growers belonging to organizations, the FG and IG, employed more modern arrangements than those with no organizational affiliation or the NG. Internal and external characteristics, such as decision-making pattern, farm income, and availability of access to various postproduction facilities and types of support institutions and services, differed significantly among groups. This appeared to work in favor of the growers belonging to organizations, perhaps influencing to some extent their use of more modern postproduction arrangements. Regarding postproduction modernization, growers in both FG and IG were moderately modern, while those without affiliation (NG) were of low level of modernity. These differences among groups were significant, indicating that growers who belonged to organizations attained higher levels of postproduction modernization. Correlations between the nature and pattern of institutional arrangements and the level of postproduction modernization both at the aggregate and individual modernity indicators were also significant. These suggest that the growers' use of more modern institutional arrangements resulted in higher level of postproduction modernization. Overall, the study concludes that cutflower growers who belonged to farm organizations, whether formal or informal, employed more modern institutional arrangements in postproduction, and consequently attained higher levels of postproduction modernization