Farming Practices in the Municipality of Irosin, Sorsogon

Farming is the main livelihood in Irosin, Sorsogon.Yet farmers remain in the poverty line despite the area is known in the region as a rice granary. However, farmers still fall into poverty line despite the town is widely known in the region as a rice granary. This was a descriptive mixed-method study. Surveys were conducted among 1,203 farmers from 19 barangays to profile farmers' current socio-demographic characteristics, to document their current farming systems, and to compare the comparative advantage of single farming systems with integrated farming systems.. The study shows an ageing workforce and few young farmers.. Rice remains the dominant economic activity of farmers (76%). Some 30.51% of farmers have moved to Integrated Farming Systems (IFS), which use a mix of crop and livestock or chicken, or high value crops. These farmers are economically more resilient, earn more on average, and less likely to be on social-security schemes such as 4Ps. The study notes a high degree of specialisation as 69.41% of farmers engaged only in single farming, which is easier to manage for older farmers.. But it also suggests farmers need to transition to integrated farming for sustainability and to engage new generations of farmers. The study argues that although single farming provides ease of management for an ageing sector, for sustainability and to bring young people into the sector there needs to be a shift towards integrated systems.

Farming Activities, Single FARMING, Integrated Farming Systems (IFS) , Socio-demographic Profile , Aging Workforce

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