Author: Tomanda D. Antok

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

The study aimed to analyze the association of the socio-demographic, economic and environmental characteristics of the respondents with the adoption and production of oil palm. Respondents of this study were all the forty one (41) individual oil palm farmers in the province of Sultan Kudarat. Data were collected using a structured interview schedule and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlational analysis. The respondents were almost all males, married with an age bracket of 30-60 years old. Most of them had attended college education. Their average family size was six members with four children. Majority was member of an organization and had attended trainings. Almost all of the respondents were farm owners. Majority of them cultivated an area from 1 to 12 hectares. Respondents had relatively high economic standing. Their average annual gross income was P512, 639.37. Oil palm was their main source of income. They acquired their planting materials abroad at an average cost of P 56.39 per plant. Respondents heavily relied on inorganic fertilizers. They spend a relatively higher cost of agricultural inputs (P777.00 per liter of pesticide), labor (P12, 000.00 per hectare), and transportation (P 1,229 per load).Results also revealed that respondents have accessibility to credit and market but limited accessibility to hauling facilities and farm implements. Farmers' capital was acquired through non-farm generated and farm-generated income like rice production. Moreover, land resources of the respondents were generally plain, sandy loam, with low fertility. The climatic condition of the province of Sultan Kudarat is characterized by a type 4 climate. Insect pests and plant diseases were moderately destructive to oil palm. The findings also revealed that farmers obtained a moderate level of technology adoption and production of oil palm. The combined contributions of socio-demographic, economic and environmental characteristics of the respondents showed significant relationship with their level of adoption of oil palm production technologies (F-value=3.574, P=0.016). No significant relationships (F-value=1.478, P=0.341) were observed between the combined contributions of socio-demographic, economic and environmental characteristics of the respondents and their level of production of oil palm. The findings further revealed that the level of production of oil palm found significant relationship in the level of adoption of oil palm production technology (F- value= 52.761, P=0.000).