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A comparative description of the two groups was made on their basic
characteristics, resources, farming systems, perceptions, problems, and constraints.
Direct observation in the field was employed on parameters that would describe the
standard of living (e.g., the quality of housing and the availability and accessibility of
community facilities).
Case study
The sunrey results were used to select the 10 farmers who will participate in the
study. Five were adopters of the RWCS and the other five were nonadopters.
Data collection was done by requesting the farmer-participants to record
their weekly farm and household activities. Monitoring forms were provided. These
were collected every Tuesday. During the collection of forms, interviews with
housewives or other members of the family were conducted to gather and clarify
information that were not properly recorded. The form was usually maintained by
the housewife.
The minimum data collected for the case study were biophysical and
socioecono~nic characteristics, cash and noncash transactions, household and
nonfarm related activities, a diary of events that included reports on the state of
farm enterprises and problems with farm management, and other information
derived from direct field observation.
The weekly monitoring forms were edited and coded. At the end of every
cropping seasbn, the farmers' crop production was summarized to assess the
performance of the crop components and the cro ping systems. A resourceassimilation
matrix was prepared to indicate the 1 ow of resources from one activity
to another. For exa~nple, income derived from the cultivation of watermelon was
spent on watermelon cultivation as well as on rice and livestock production. The
information in the resource-assimilation matrix was plotted in a resource-flow
diagram. This diagram reflected the extent of financial integration that took place
between activities.
Cash-flow analysis was aggregated on a monthly basis. Cash inflow and cash
outflow were categorized according to farm and nonfarm activities to examine the
role of RWCS. Household expenditure was considered as a nonfarm expense.
Descriptive survey
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The major objective of the descriptive survey was to determine the degree of
adoption of the RWCS introduced by the DA-RIARS at Dambo. The RWCS was an
improvement on the existing rice - fallow cropping system.