Evaluation of upland farmer's productivity and management practices of homegarden agroforestry in WVSU [Western Visayas State Univ., Lambunao and Calinog, Iloilo, Philippines] reservation

It has been a common observation that upland dwellers occupy university reservations. An example of this is West Visayas State University (WVSU). It has a total land area of 3,474 ha and located in Lambunao and Calinog in Iloilo [Philippines] which has been occupied and cultivated by upland farmers since 1951. Homegardens are usually grown near the households of farmers and are composed of combinations of plants, timber, livestock, and other products for food and other domestic consumption. These contribute significantly to incomes of farmers. Alli and Tutor (WVSU) determined the: 1) socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, species composition of homegarden plants, and management strategies used; and 2) production of homegarden system of the upland farmers at WVSU reservation. Results of the study revealed the following: It was found that respondents were relatively old, more than half were females, mostly married, and were elementary graduates. It was revealed that management strategies such as cleaning and weeding were done once a month, while cultivation was done three times in a month. Family members are the main source of labor in homegardening. Pruning, thinning, and pollarding were other management strategies employed in the homegardens. These were mostly done once a year using family labor. Agricultural crops that were commonly sold by majority of the respondents were bananas rather than perennial crops. However, common agricultural crops with high production were peanut, banana, and papaya while perennial crops were mango, coconut, and avocado. Results also revealed that higher income was derived from perennial crops compared to annual crops. The following conclusions were made based from the results of the study: 1) species that could be found in each homegarden were combination of annual and perennial crops with random, mixed, or strip arrangement; 2) establishment strategies utilized less labor compared with maintenance and cultural practices, which were mostly done monthly or yearly; and 3) higher income was derived from perennial crops compared to annual crops. Recommendations are presented.