Establishing baseline information for organic agriculture in Panay and Guimaras, Philippines

Abstract

This study was conducted to establish baseline information for organic agriculture practitioners in Region VI. Specifically, the study aimed to A) identify the organic agriculture stakeholders in Panay and Guimaras; B) classify the stakeholders according to the following categories: 1) Advocates, 2) Practitioners, a) Input producers, b) Organic crop/animal/special products producer/farmer, c) Organic products processors, d) Financiers, e) Organic products/inputs trader, f) Technology providers/developer; C) describe the personal and household profile of organic agriculture stakeholders in Panay and Guimaras; D) describe the farm profile and farming practices of organic agriculture practitioners in Panay and Guimaras; E) describe the marketing practices of organic crops and livestock practitioners in Panay and Guimaras; F) determine the accreditation status of the organic agriculture practitioner in Panay and Guimaras; and, G) determine the problems in organic farming encountered by the organic agriculture practitioners in Panay and Guimaras, their suggestions and recommendations to promote organic agriculture.

The study is purely descriptive and used the one-shot survey design. Data were gathered from 3,626 identified organic agriculture practitioners in the Panay and Guimaras using an instrument developed for this study. Complete enumeration of the organic agriculture practitioners was conducted through the assistance of the Department of Agriculture RFU 6, Provincial Agriculture Offices, and Municipal/City Agriculture Offices. The interviewers were organized from the different provinces with the assistance of their respective Provincial Focal Persons for Organic Agriculture. Data processing and generation of tables were done at the University Research Center of Central Philippine University by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 17. Since this is a purely descriptive study, frequency distribution tables and means were the main statistical tools used which likewise served as the basis for analysis and interpretation of data.