Social correlates of rainfed rice farmers' mechanism to cope with drought

Abstract

A study of 90 rainfed rice farmers from Barangay Palloc, Ballesteros, Cagayan, was undertaken to determine their socioeconomic characteristics, ascertain the impact of the 1990-1991 drought, identify the coping mechanisms employed, and correlate some selected variables. Results showed that most of the respondents abandoned their farms because of lack of water for an average of 5 mo which resulted in big crop losses. Twenty percent of the respondents were forced to sell their farms and 6% sold their household properties. Almost half (44%) of the farmer households suffered from malnutrition. The majority of the respondents employed off-farm coping mechanisms like diversification of income and livelihood sources (50%) and adjusting to scarcity of basic necessities (18%). Thirty-two percent employed both on-and off-farm coping mechanisms, while the rest (16%) employed on-farm coping mechanisms such as multiple cropping and the use of a water pump and farm ponds. Selected socioeconomic variables had no significant relationship with the type of coping mechanisms employed by farmers in times of drought. There was, however a significant difference between on-farm and off-farm mechanisms. The off-farm coping mechanisms were more advantageous than the on-farm ones.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Agricultural Scientist

ISSN

317454

Page

190-199

Document Type

Article

Subject

Drought, On-farm and off-farm coping mechanisms, Socioeconomic correlates

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