Agro-ecological study on different farming systems in Cavite province, Philippines: Diversity and productivity of farming systems in peri-urban landscape
2004
Masbang, K. (Ibaraki Univ., Ami (Japan). Coll. of Agriculture) | Yoshida, M. | Francis, C.
Owing to its proximity to the country's capital, Cavite Province is a major supplier of food to Metro Manila. However, this condition is threatened by rapid peri-urbanization in Cavite due to feverish construction of residences and manufacturing complexes. As a result, land area for agriculture has dwindled from 73% in 1990 to 54% in 2001. When rapid changes are underway, there is a need to characterize the remaining farming systems in Cavite and to determine the economical conditions of various alternatives. Farmer interviews were conducted in the different land systems (LS). The farms were grouped according to crop-based farming system (main crop + associated crops). Results reveal that the species-richest farms (5 crop species on the average) were concentrated in the midland LS (100-400m elevation), specifically in farms with bamboo-based and cassava-based farming systems. Economic analysis also shows that, farm income from crops decreases as one moves from the lowland (<100m elevation) to the midland. In contrast, great disparity in farm income exists between farms in the upland (>400m elevation) and those in the lowland and midland, as upland farms are earning as much as 3 times more income. Without ways to increase income from agriculture, farms in the lowland and midland will continue to be developed for uses other than agriculture.
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