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of the ratio of actual intake and reconlmended daily allowance (RDA) to ensure
consistency in the use of the specified econometric model. Furthermore, the average
adequacy in nutrients has yet to be satisfied.
Per capita energy intake (calories) was determined by total household
income, age and years of schooling of the mother, family size, and share of food
expenditure of the total farm household budget. All exogenous variables had a
significant positive impact on per capita energy intake. Characteristics of the
mothers such as educational attainment, a proxy variable for a\i.areness of good diet
preparation, and age, representing long-term experience on the part of the mother,
both positively contributed to increases in energy intake. Per capita protein intake
(grams) was also explained by these \,ariables. Total household income,
expenditures on food. and characteristics of mothers had significant positi\.e impact
on protein intake. The positi\.r effect of household size on energy and protein intake
may indicate the capacity of the household to acquire enoush food.
CONCLUSIOS
If the explicit goal of FSR i~ to de\pelop a crop-nlis that incre~~ses producti\,ity of
land ivhich can he translated into higher incomes. then its implicit goal is to impro\,e
the total welfare of the fartning households. This study assessed the i~npact of FSR
on this basis.
The study indicated that there \vas a rnised imp;ict on the different \\.elfare
measures of the fdrming households. It is probable that increases in rlourishnient
\rere positiirely affected by the introduced technologies. The nutritional inipact of
FSR technologies could be directl!! through an increase in household food supply as
a result of an Increase in total production (represented by value of prod~rctivity in
the model), or indirectly througli an increase in purchasing power as a result of
increased total ho~15ehold incorne t7rought about by increased productivity. Changes
in food supply, ho\i.e\:er, affect the n~.~tr~tional stat~~s of the household mernbers only
to the extent that food consumption is affected. Altlioi~gh the technologies have a
significant positive effect on per capita nutrient intake, the nutrient adequ;lcv
indices suggest that houseliold intake still falls sliort of recli~ired daily nutrient
intake. It appears, ho\\.ever, that sni;~ll farming households can hetter satisf! their
protein requirement than their energy needs (other sti~dies have made similar
observations). T\vo plausihle esplnnations ;ire offered: the m;li~i diet of Filipinos, is
rice, which has a relatively high protein content; ;lnd Filipitios in gcner~ll. consume
less fat. In the absence of baseline information, one can onl! ~pt~illtlte whe1l:er
there was an increase in nutrient intake or \chetl~er tllat inr;~ke I-enl;iins ; ~t the sL\iTltl
level as that of the preproject period.
As R:lvillon (1990) h;~s pointed out, the nutritional imp:!ct of a~ricultural
changes depends on whetlier or not the vulnerable groups u'ithin the ho~~sehold
benefit from them. The prevalence of ~lnderno~lrishmeut among the preschoolers in
all farm categories is noticeable. The nutritional st;ltus of the prrschoolers tends to
follow seasonal fluctuations in the indices of nutrient adequacy. One limitation of
the study is its inability to link direc.tly (at least within the specified econometric