Ilocano Rice Farmers Case Study

Profile of Ilocano Rice Farmers in the Province of Ilocos Sur Profile of the Respondents Table 2 on page 38 shows the profile of the Ilocano rice farmers in the Province of Ilocos Sur in terms of their age, gender, educational background, farming experience land tenure, land area, variety of rice, average yield, and income from farming. Age. It is shown in the table that a great percentage (46 or 42.59%) of the rice farmers in the first district of Ilocos Sur are aged 41 - 55, while only five (4.63%) belongs to the age bracket of 26 to 40 years old. It means that the farmers are in the middle of adulthood and there are more adult farmers than young farmers. According to The Manila Times (2015) the Philippines have the oldest rice farmers

The table shows that a great number (33 or 30.56%) of the respondents finished elementary. This implies that the respondents attended formal schooling in 6 years of basic education. Due to poverty and economic issues, parents cannot afford to send their children to school. The typical farming parents during their time encourage their family members to help in farm works to increase their productivity. This is in consonance with the report of Philippine Statistics Authority (2017) that almost 10 percent of the 6 to 24 years old Filipinos are not attending school and did not even finish college. Furthermore, some of the reasons of students dropped out rate are attributed by insufficient family income, high cost, and lack of interest.
Training Attended. It can be gleaned from the table 3 on page 38 that a great majority of farmers (76 or 70.37%) are attending 0 to two trainings in growing rice while only two of them are attending trainings for nine times and above. It means that training – workshops rendered to farmers were beneficial in acquiring new knowledge and informations essential in rice cultivation and production. These ideas perhaps help farmers to make better decision - making that leads better yields and greater