Philippine E-Journals

Influence of Gender and Level of Education of Farmers on Sugarcane Productivity in the Visayas, Philippines: A Factual Phenomenon

Paulino A. Oñal | Paulino Miguel M. Oñal

Discipline: geography (non-specific)

 

Abstract:

Agriculture is the backbone of an economy. In the Philippines, sugar- cane farming is a major dollar industry that contributes an average in- come of Php 70 billion per year. The study aims to examine the influ- ence of farmers' gender and the level of education on sugarcane produc- tivity in the Philippines. The descriptive-correlation method was em- ployed in the study. The instrument used was a validated survey ques- tionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84. The 320 sugarcane farmers were randomly identified at the seven locations in the Visayas area of the Philippines. Results indicate that the majority of the farmers are male (69.7%), secondary level (47.2%), with a low average production of <49 TC/ha. (53.9%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) implied that there's a significant difference in the production of sugarcane among the different locations in the Philippines (alpha = 0.05). Furthermore, results implied that farmers' gender and their level of education signif- icantly influence the production (alpha = 0.01). Relatively, the farmer's gender and their level of education strongly correlate with production (alpha = 0.01). Overall, the results implied that farmers' gender and level of education have a direct contribution to production. Hence, the government should play a vital role in improving the agricultural edu- cational system. The budget for education should be increased, and more scholarship be made available, especially for students who will be taking courses in the agriculture field. More seminars and updates for aged and female farmers should be designed by the government. En- hancing the technical-vocational competency of the farmers will be pro- vided, and ultimately, provide them with a National Certificate through TESDA.