Mid-way evaluation of the rainfed rice-based farming system project in Tarlac, Philippines using the farming systems research and development (FSR & D) approach

Field survey was conducted from 23rd December 1992 to 05th March 1993 to examine the changes that took place after the implementation of the project in Estipona, Pura, Tarlac. A comparison of the farming systems of both farmer-cooperators and non-cooperators of the project was made. Economic benefits from using the introduced fertilizer technology were also compared with the farmers' practice. Findings of the study showed that farmers are generally enthusiastic about the introduced technology and any other government projects not only to learn new techniques but also to avail themselves of free inputs and other benefits from the project. Differences in cooperators' and non-cooperators' socio-economic status were observed even before the project, however, the gap was widened after project implementation. This is due to economic incapability of non-cooperators to buy the required fertilizer inputs unlike farmer-cooperators who have the resources to exploit the potential of the introduced technology. This indicates that instead of making the resource-poor farmers to produce more, the introduced technology has created more gap between resource-rich and resource-poor farmers. Apart from the changes in rice varieties used, no other significant change was observed in farmers' utilization of inputs, particularly fertilizer usage. That farmers already have sufficient levels of technology even before the start of the project as evidenced by the number of farmers using the recommended range of N-fertilizer, which was coupled with the absence of economic advantage from using the introduced technology over the existing farmers' practice had caused the slow rate of adoption among farmers. This further suggests that the project should develop cheaper technology based on farmers' priorities. The setbacks of the slow rate of technology adoption are the inability and inefficiency of the FSR & D team to formulate a research agenda which is appropriate to existing farmers' circumstances. Technical and economic constraints are still hindrances to the adoption of introduced technology.