Farming system preferences among selected municipalities of zamboanga del norte philippines: an extension movement implication

The status of farming practices in five municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines is the point of interest on this study. It further identified the determinants that affect the farming preferences and their choices based on efficiency, cost efficiency, accessibility (personal or financial) and availability of raw materials and its substitutes. Through government interventions, problems were also solicited. A descriptive-purposive method was employed. The data were gathered with the use of validated questionnaires that were distributed to the 3293 registered farmer-respondents through on site survey. Percentage and weighted mean average were used to analyze the data. Results showed that in Rizal, 65% of the respondents (107) resorted to organic farming, the 35% applied inorganic practice. In Piňan, 41 % of the respondents (108) applied inorganic practice, 54% utilized the organic practice and 5% used the sustainable practice. In Roxas, 66.4% of the respondents (125) were applying inorganic farming, 27.2% utilized sustainable farming, and 6.4% applied organic farming. In Manukan, out of 125 respondents (125), 55.2% used inorganic farming, 33.6% used sustainable farming, and 11.2% used organic as their farming system. In Liloy, 49.55% of the total respondents (2828) applied inorganic practice, 32.77 % applied the sustainable practice and the remaining 17.65% used organic practice. The inorganic farming practice is the most preferred choice among the farmer-respondents as they claimed that this practice is efficient in diminishing the pests in the farm. Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU) College of Education Extension Unit would collaborate with the Local Government Units (LGUs) and Department of Agriculture (DA) on the proper training on organic farming method to attain efficiency in production and transform the farmers as environmental-friendly users.