Organization of household labor in agroforestry systems: Philippine cases.

Abstract

Agroforestry, though old as man, is a relatively new concept in land and natural resource management. Agroforestry "offers a means of bringing the activities of rural people into greater harmony with the environment by developing a complementary association between trees and agricultural crops" (Ffolliott and Thames, 1983). The capabilities of a people to sustain a system is a fundamental knowledge that resource managers should be equipped with. This study specifically investigated on household labor allocation in three different agroforestry systems, to qualitatively determine whether agroforestry is a viable natural resource management alternative that provides a compromise to government interests of conserving the natural resources, and supplementing and/or providing for a people's needs; and to establish the capabilities of a people to sustain agroforestry by analyzing household labor allocation patterns. The study was conducted in the Northern Philippines and data was gathered summer of 1989. Primary data gathering techniques were utilized, as well as secondary data. Agroforestry was found to be a viable land and natural resource management alternative. However, while natural resources are being managed, certain considerations should be made on: historical antecedents that give rise to the manner by which agroforestry is practiced, existing land use practices, and human activities present in the area. Aside from biophysical constraints, household labor allocation largely explains the nature of the agroforestry system. Labor allocation in Barangay Ambassador is flexible, and is affected by the availability of household labor, and the nature of the activities engaged in by the households, as well as the importance attached to the cited activities.