Improvement in Self-assessed Knowledge and Changes in Farming System Practices of Climate Field School Graduates in Bicol, Philippines
Abstract
Rainfed lowland and upland farmers have less access to new technologies especially those that would reduce their vulnerability to climate change. In the Philippines, the Philippine Rice Research Institute developed a package of technology called “Palayamanan” that is suited to rainfed sites. This paper presents the results of the study that disseminated the Palayamanan technology through the climate field school (CFS) in rainfed areas in Bicol. Thirty-eight farmers from two barangays of Pamplona, Camarines Sur, and 78 farmers from three barangays of Milagros, Masbate were the respondents. A five-point scale was used to self-assess farmers’ knowledge on topics discussed in the CFS, which were divided into four major parts: climate science, rice production, vegetable and animal production, and pest and water management. Weighted means of the farmers’ self-assessed knowledge scores before and after the CFS were generated. The Mann-Whitney U method was used to test the significance of the differences in the pre-and post-test scores. The differences between pre- and post-test scores were highly significant (at 5% level), especially on the clustered topics of climate, land preparation and seedling establishment, soil nutrient management, pest management, and harvesting. Some farmer-cooperators shifted from traditional crop varieties to high-value crop, thus, changing their farming systems from subsistence to commercial. Farmer-graduates in Pamplona and Milagros have improved self-assessed knowledge and farm practices of some farmer-cooperators also changed, resulting in more advanced farm technologies being adopted in the area. The participants also engaged in new recreational activities such as backyard farming, which became a supplemental source of income. There is need to conduct similar study that investigates other factors or variables that could affect farmers’ participation in the CFS. The CFS as a mode of extension delivery in rainfed areas is still in its infancy stage. More funds can be poured into the strengthening of the curriculum as well as capacitating the agricultural technicians to be competent resource persons.
