Assessment of the crop-livestock production systems at Mat-i, Claveria, Misamis Oriental [Philippines]

Integration between the crops and livestock enterprises was noted with carabao as the main source of draft for land preparation in huling of produce. Crops, particularly corn, provided part of the feed requirements of the ruminants. Moreover, chicken dung was highly utilized as organic fertilizer by the farmers, though, these were bought from the market. Swine and chicken, on the other hand, partly utilize corn by-products for feeds, since these are only available during harvests. Estimated contribution of the livestock enterprise to the total cash farm income ranged from 0.3 percent to 9 percent. This contribution increased to as high as 50 percent if total non-cash farm income was included. However, in terms of net farm income, livestock incurred losses and its highest contribution was only 8.7 percent. The losses were attributed to family labor which was valued as opportunity cost. The major part of the farm income came from the crops, particularly, tomato. Benefit-cost ratios of the different combinations were all above 1.0 indicating acceptability in terms of profitability. Based on the criteria developed, the corn + tomato + baguio beans + carabao + swine + chicken (CLS-7) was identified as the most satisfactory combination for the community. An alternative production model was then developed based on this. The alternative model showed increased profitability by attaining a BCR of 3.4. Slight variations of the systems' component also indicated change in profitability. Intensive cattle fattening decreased the BCR to 2.0 although profits could be realized sooner. Integration of gmelina for timber production gave a high BCR of 216.0 while citrus integration gave a 40-0 BCR. Moreover, utilization of non-cash resources such as land and family labor increased. Enhanced crop and livestock production in the uplands and assurance of cash availability during lean months are important components in alleviating the economic condition of the upland farmers. They also encourage settled farming and help mimimize environmentally destructive livelihood activities such as illegal gathering of forest products