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Site description
Iloilo is located in the southeastern region of the Island of Panay. The municipality
of Ajuy is situated in the northeastern part of Iloilo, approximately 87 km from
Iloilo City. Ajuy is composed of 34 barangays, three of which are islets.
The topography of Ajuy is dominated by a mountain range (400 In in height)
in the west that is covered with grasslands, shrubs, and secondary forests.
Agricultural lands are located mostly along the foot of this mountain range and
extend to the relatively flatter area along tlie sea coast. The soil type is generally
sandy loam and clay loam.
About 36% of the total area of the rnuniciprility is considered agricultural
land, 41% of which is under rice-based farming systems. Of this' rice-based farming
area, 90% is rainfed. Other crops in the area are coconut, sugarcane, maize, root
crops, and legumes.
Fishing is a major source of income in the coastal areas. Fish ponds
constitute 6% of the total area. Livestock is raised mainly for home consumption
and as 3 supplenlentary source of income. The site belongs to the Type 111 climate,
which is characterized by two distinct seasons. January-April is the dry period with
an average rainfall of 230 mm/mo, May-December is tlie wet season (WS) with an
average rainfall of 600 mm/mo. The monthly mean temperature is relatively
constant (25.2 OC,in January, 28 'C in May). The monthly mean relative humidity
ranges from abo~lt 75% in April to 84% in October.
Selection of sample farms
Many difficulties were encountered in the selection of san;ples that would represent
adopters and nonadopters of the technology. F;irrners who had established their first
crop using dry seeded rice (DSR) were classified as adopters. The other f~rmers
were considered to be nonadopters. Initially, the selection of adopters of
KABSAKA technology was based on the information provided by the Department
of Agriculture (DA). However, there were discrepancies, especially among farmers
that changed categories year after year. Therefore, the farmers were cl:lssified
according to the cropping system they had adopted over the last 4 years. Sixty
farmers were selected during the first phase of the study. Those who dropped out
during the first year were replaced with another 12 farmers.
Data collection and monitoring
Records on crop production and household transactions were maintained daily from
March 1987 to April 1989. All crop production data were recorded on a plot basis
using n farm activity sheet; whereas, household transaction dates were recorded on a