The usability of pagasa’s weather information in the decision making process of rice farmers on selected three 3 barangays in calauan laguna province in the philippines

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY JESSICA JANE MAGPILI COSICO THE USABILITY OF PAGASA’S WEATHER INFORMATION IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF RICE FARMERS ON SELECTED THREE (3) BARANGAYS IN CALAUAN, LAGUNA PROVINCE IN THE PHILIPPINES BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major: Environmental Science and Management Faculty: Advanced Education Program Office Batch: 2015-2018 Thai Nguyen, 15/11/2018 DOCUMENTATION PAGE WITH ABSTRACT Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student Name Jessica Jane M Cosico Student ID DTN1454290106 Thesis Title The Usability of PAGASA’s Weather Information in the Decision-Making Process of Rice Farmers on Selected Three (3) Barangays in Calauan, Laguna Province in the Philippines Supervisor (s) Prof Dr Marisa J Sobremisana (Philippines); Assoc Prof Dr Vu Thi Tu Anh (Vietnam) Supervisor’s signature (s) Abstract: Rice is considered a staple food in the Philippines and in most of the countries in Asia As the case, rice farming is an important part of Laguna's agriculture, one of the provinces in the country located in the Southern Tagalog region with approximately 30,619 (306.19 km2) of land used for cultivating 130,904 metric tons (130,904,000 kg) of rice (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2017) With climate change and its associated risks on hand, many farmers, farms and other stakeholders can be very vulnerable in their farming activities To address this dilemma, one of the farmer’s needs is on climatic information to help them plan and decide for their farm production activities PAGASA (Philippines Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) provides timely, accurate and reliable weather-related information and services to protect lives and properties of people The usability of PAGASA’s weather information in the decision-making process of rice farmers was conducted in three barangays in Calauan namely: barangay Dayap, barangay Bangyas and barangay Masiit This was done by conducting a survey to 20 rice farmers in ii each of the three barangays The main objective of this research is to know the usability of PAGASA’s weather information on the decision-making process of farmers based on production, organization, management, farm labor, change in crop patterns and welfare The other objectives of the study are to determine how PAGASA’s weather information are 1) received and interpreted by the farmers and 2) highly contributes to the income and welfare of the farmers The results of the survey using mean, percentage and frequency distribution were used as a reference for future researchers and policy-makers to help develop and enhance PAGASA’s weather information In conclusion, PAGASA’s weather information not influence the administration and marketing decisions of farmers, but on the production management decisions Overall, PAGASA’s weather information provides efficient, effective and satisfactory data on the decision-making process of rice farmers, with no biases, in Calauan, Laguna Keywords: Decision-Making, Rice Farmers, Weather Forecast, PAGASA Number of pages: 52 Date of Submission: 15/11/2018 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I most grateful to my God Almighty for giving me endless knowledge and strength to overcome this research I am also grateful for my thesis supervisor, Prof Dr Marisa J Sobremisana, School of Environmental Science and Management, University of the PhilippinesLos Baños (UPLB), for her continuous ideas, suggestions, guidance and patience throughout the course of my research study My second thesis adviser in Vietnam, Associate Professor Dr Vu Thi Tu Anh, for her support and advice on my research study I also like to thank ate Tina for helping me finalize my thesis I would like to thank our Honorable Mayor in Calauan, Mr Buenafrido “George” Berris, for allowing me to conduct my research in Calauan I also would like to thank Ms Aisylene Acuarda for giving me the Calauan Master List of Rice Farmers that allows me to find possible respondents for my research study I am also grateful to the 60 survey respondents from Barangay Dayap, Barangay Bangyas and Barangay Masiit for their hospitality and for allotting their time to participate in the survey and for making this research possible I am thankful to all my friends who are there to support me To my best friends, Jocela and Lian, for being my companion and helping me conduct my survey To my other best friends, Shawie, Ellai and Pau for giving me encouragements and support To Joy, Luis, Lester, Francina, Enzo, Vea, Tinay and AJ, thank you for being my second family in Vietnam and for being with me through thick and thin We can this! I am sincerely thankful to my mother Maggie Cosico, my father Jimmy Cosico, my two brothers Mark James Cosico and TJ Cosico, for your unending love, understanding and support in the completion of my research study To my dearest Michael, thank you for supporting and believing in me Jessica Jane M Cosico iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES .viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale and Background 1.1.1 Background of the Study 1.1.2 Rice Farms in the Philippines and Its Increasing Risks 1.1.3 Agriculture in Calauan, Laguna 1.1.4 The Farmer’s Decision-Making Process 1.2 Significance of the Study 1.3 Objectives 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Scope and Limitations PART II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The Rice Farmer 2.2 Technology Adoption 2.2.1 Factors Affecting Technology Adoption on Farmers 2.3 Understanding the Farmer’s Decision-Making Process 2.4 Background on the Farmer’s Decision-Making Process 10 2.5 Weather Forecasting for Agriculture 11 2.6 Climatological and Farm Weather Services of PAGASA 14 2.7 Weather Forecasting as Aid to Filipino Farmers 15 2.8 Measuring Usability 16 PART III: METHODOLOGY 18 v 3.1 Research Materials 18 3.2 Time and Place of the Study 18 3.3 Research Design 19 3.4 Conduct of the Survey 19 3.4.1 Site Selection Criteria 19 3.4.2 Determination of Sample Size and Sampling 20 3.4.3 Data Gathering Process 20 3.5 Organization and Analysis of Data 21 3.6 Conceptual Framework 21 PART IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 23 4.1 Population Characteristics 23 4.2 Respondent’s Profile 23 4.2.1 Level of Education 23 4.2.2 Age of Farmers 24 4.2.3 Managing Farm Area 24 4.2.4 Farmer’s Income 25 4.3 Usability of PAGASA in Decision-Making Process 26 4.3.1 Ease of Use 26 4.3.2 Usefulness 28 4.3.3 Satisfaction 30 PART V: CONCLUSION 35 5.1 Recommendations 36 REFERENCES 37 APPENDICES 42 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure The Geographical Location Map of the three barangay research sites (Barangay Dayap, Bangyas, and Masiit) in Calauan, Laguna Philippines, 2018 Figure Conceptual Framework of the Study 22 Figure Percentage Distribution of Rice 24 Figure Percentage Distribution of Monthly Income of Respondents 25 Figure Percentage Distribution of the Satisfaction of Respondents on Implementing PAGASA’s Weather Information in Farm Life 31 Figure Percentage Distribution of Considering PAGASA’s Weather Information in Long Term Decisions 31 Figure Percentage Distribution of Respondent’s Response on Reduced Farm Labor and Cost with the Help of PAGASA’s Weather Information 32 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Number of Rice Field Hectares and Population of Rice Farmers in Three Surveyed Barangays in Calauan, Laguna 23 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Respondents’ Educational Attainment 24 Table Frequency Distribution of Rice 24 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution on Number of Rice Field Hectares 25 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Familiarity of Respondents on PAGASA’s Weather Forecast System 26 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution about Accuracy of PAGASA’s Weather Information 27 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Accessibility of Respondents on PAGASA’s Weather Information 28 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Implementation of PAGASA’s Weather Information on Irrigation Schedule 29 Table Percentage and Frequency Distribution of Use of PAGASA’s Weather Information in Farm Production 30 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CCSMKE Christian Community Services Mount Kenya East DOST Department of Science and Technology IRRI International Research Institute KMD Kenya Meteorological Department MAO Municipal Agriculture Office PAGASA Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration PHILRICE Philippine Rice Research Institute PSA Philippine Statistics Office SARAi Smarter Approaches to Reinvigorate Agriculture as an Industry in the Philippines SCF Seasonal Climate Forecasts SEARCA Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture SMS Short Message Service USE Usefulness, Satisfaction, Ease of Use UNISDR United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction ix PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale and Background 1.1.1 Background of the Study A survey for the usability of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) weather information on the decision-making process of the rice farmers on three selected barangays in Calauan, Laguna namely: Bangyas, Dayap and Masiit were done The data from this study were used to determine the usability of PAGASA in the farmer’s decision-making process for improvement and development of the 1) farm management and 2) PAGASA’s system (UNISDR, 2016) 1.1.2 Rice Farms in the Philippines and Its Increasing Risks The Philippines is an agricultural country with a land area of 30 million hectares, 47% of which is agricultural land In the Philippines, prime agricultural lands are located around the main urban and high population density areas (Quilang, 2011) The Philippines is the 9th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.4% of global rice production (2016 Crop Production Statistics, 2018) Rice is considered a staple food in most of the countries in Asia But because of climate change and the increasing associated risks, including natural hazards like earthquakes and typhoons, many crops have been affected manifested in decreased yield which resulted to increase vulnerability of farmers, farms and other stakeholders (Project SARAi, 2017) Cui, L (1978) Decision-making patterns among rice farm families in two municipalities in Northern Samar Unpublished master’s thesis University of the Philippines-Los Baños Digital Communications Division (2015) Usability Evaluation Basics Retrieved from: https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/usability-evaluation.html (accessed on 21/06/2018) Dodd, D (2014) Three Ways Institutions Are Using Technology to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness 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with the USE Questionnaire Usability Interface, 8(2), pp 3-6 NIFA - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2015) Agriculture Technology Retrieved from: https://nifa.usda.gov/topic/agriculture-technology (accessed on 21/05/2018) 39 Ohlmer, B., Olson, K., and Brehmer, B (1998) Understanding farmers' decision-making processes and improving managerial assistance Agricultural Economics, 18(3), pp 273-288 Philippine Laws and Jurisprudence Databank - The Lawphil Project (2018) Presidential Decree No 78 Retrieved from: https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1972/pd_78_1972.html (accessed on 20/06/2018) PhilRice - Philippine Rice Research Institute (2016) Rice Infographics: Who is the Filipino Rice Farmer Retrieved from: http://www.philrice.gov.ph/riceinfographics-filipino-rice-farmer/ (accessed on 21/06/2018) PSA - Philippine Statistics Authority (2016) Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay Retrieved from: https://psa.gov.ph/content/population-region-iv-calabarzon-based-2015census-population (accessed on 06/08/18) PSA - Philippine Statistics Authority (2017) Laguna Quickstat – April 2017 Retrieved from: https://psa.gov.ph/content/laguna-quickstat-april-2017 (accessed on 01/04/18) PSA - Philippines Statistics Authority (2018) Performance of Philippine Agriculture January-March 2018 Retrieved from: https://psa.gov.ph/content/performance-philippine-agriculture-januarymarch-2018-1 (accessed on 20/07/2018) Quilang, R (2011) Philippine Policies on Agribusiness and Rural Development to Adapt to Climate Change Journal of International Society for Southeast Asian Agricultural Sciences, 17 (1), p 29 40 Rathore, L S and Chattopadhyay, N (2018) Weather and Climate Services for Farmers in India Retrieved from: https://public.wmo.int/en/resources/bulletin/weather-and-climateservices-farmers-india (accessed on 12/09/18) Renaud, K and Biljon, J (2008) Predicting Technology Acceptance and Adoption by the 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https://www.unisdr.org/files/33988_countryassessmentreportphilippines %5B1%5D.pdf (accessed on 25/09/2018) 41 APPENDICES 42 Appendix Request Letter for Conducting Research in Calauan Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry University of the Philippines, Los Baños Dear Honorable Mayor Buenafrido Berris, My name is Jessica Jane Magpili Cosico, currently at my 4th year in college taking Environmental Science and Management in Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry I am doing my bachelor’s thesis in University of the Philippines LosBaños The objective of my research is to know how PAGASA’s climate information helps the farmer’s decision-making process and their adaptation strategies I also wanted to know the accessibility of PAGASA and the perception of traditional farmers/farmers on local weather forecast system The purpose of this research is to provide information for future researches and to improve the services of PAGASA’s weather forecast system To end this, I want to request permission from you, confidentiality of my study, to collect research data including the list of farms/rice farms in Calauan, Laguna All the information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with anyone else besides the research study staff If you have any questions, please contact me at (049) 543-5359 and 09979329420 Sincerely, Jessica Jane M Cosico Student, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry 43 Appendix Letter of Cooperation for Respondents Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry University of the Philippines, Los Baños To Whom It May Concern: My name is Jessica Jane Magpili Cosico, currently in my 4th year in college taking Environmental Science and Management in Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry I am doing my bachelor’s thesis at University of the Philippines LosBaños The objective of my research is to know how PAGASA’s climate information helps the farmer’s decision-making process and thereby making their adaptation strategies effective I also wanted to know the accessibility of PAGASA and the perception of traditional farmers/farmers on local weather forecast system The purpose of this research is to provide information for future researches and to improve the services of PAGASA’s weather forecast system To end this, I want to request permission from you to be my cooperator, confidentiality of my study, to collect research data from the farmers and key informants by asking questions in a form of survey All the information will be kept confidential and will not be shared with anyone else besides the research study staff If you have any questions, please contact me at (049) 543-5359/09308822597 Sincerely, Jessica Jane M Cosico Student, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry 44 Appendix Survey Questionnaire Survey Questionnaire Name of the Interviewer: Jessica Jane M Cosico Date: _ I Farmer’s Details Name of the Farmer: _ Age: _ Address: Education: _ Land owned: _ Has (Hectares) If tenant, area planted: _ Has (Hectares) Crops grown besides rice: _ What is your estimated income?  1,000 – 3,000  4,000 – 6,000  7,000 – 8,000  9,000 – up  Others (specify): From where you get financial support? Borrow funds?  Govt Banks  Private / Co-operative Banks  Others Specify: _ What factors affect your yield?  Natural calamities (e.g flood, typhoon, extreme rainfall)  Lack of finances  Diseases (e.g pests)  Lack of knowledge  Unavailability of resources  Others: How you market your crops?  Direct  Through middle men  Through agencies Do you have storage place and market for your yield?  Yes  No  Don’t know How you plan for your future?  Insurance  Fixed Deposits 45     Gold On property Any other: None II Ease of Use Are you familiar with PAGASA’s weather forecast system? (for farmers/traditional farmers)  Not familiar  Quite familiar  Familiar How accurate/precise is PAGASA’s weather forecast system, in terms of: Not Quite Accurate Very accurate Accurate Accurate Information (rainfall, humidity) Date, time, weather Planting time Harvesting time How you access PAGASA’s weather information?  Television  Internet  Radio  Secondary information (other farm/farmers)  No access III Usefulness 10 How often you use PAGASA’s weather information in your farm production?  Never  Sometimes  Always 11 Do you use/depend on PAGASA’s weather information for irrigation?  Never  Sometimes  Always 46 12 Do you use PAGASA’s weather information when changing cropping patterns?  Never  Rarely  Sometimes  Often  Always IV Satisfaction 13 Does applying PAGASA’s climate information in your decision-making process reduces the man-power and farm labor cost?  No  Yes 14 Would you consider applying the information from PAGASA for long-term decision-making and future complications?  Not consider  Definitely consider 15 Are you satisfied with the overall effect of PAGASA’s weather information on your farm life?  Dissatisfied  Satisfied 16 How important is PAGASA’s weather information on your decision-making process?  Not at all important  Quite important  Very important 47 Appendix Pictures of Rice Fields in: 1) Barangay Dayap 2) Barangay Bangyas 3) Barangay Masiit 48 Appendix Some Pictures of Respondents 49 Appendix Definition of Terms Usability – The extent where a product or service can be used by farmers to achieve their goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) – It is the agency for National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS)of the Republic of the Philippines which requires to protect lives and properties through timely, accurate and reliable weather-related information and services Farmer – any individual who is engaged in rice farming activities and has a managerial ability to utilize his farm Decision – the final outcome after evaluating the choice among the alternatives Production Management Decisions – The center of this decision is to know what and how to produce It can be classified into strategic and operational decisions Climate Change – refers to significant changes in global temperature, precipitation, wind patterns and other measures of climate that worsens the economic situation and food security among the people Technology Adoption - a process in which the farmer became aware of the technology and eventually embrace it and making full use of it to manage their farm activities efficiently Educational Attainment – level of education attained by the farmer respondents Rice Income – the income derived from rice farming 50 Risk – the factors that can affect vulnerability of farmers, farms and other stakeholders Farm Cost – anything perceived as additional expenses or loss to the farm and to the well-being of the farmer Farm Labor – the over-all work inputs to utilize a farm 51 Appendix Raw Data of Graphs Figure 4: Income Range Frequency Percentage 1,000-3,000 5% 4,000-6,000 30 50% 7,000-9,000 15% 10,000-up 18 30% Response Frequency Percentage No 19 32% Yes 41 68% Response Frequency Percentage No 16 27% Yes 44 73% Figure 5: Figure 6: Figure 7: Response Frequency Percentage No 15% Yes 51 85% 52 ... DTN1454290106 Thesis Title The Usability of PAGASA’s Weather Information in the Decision- Making Process of Rice Farmers on Selected Three (3) Barangays in Calauan, Laguna Province in the Philippines Supervisor... survey on the usability of PAGASA’s weather information on the decision- making process of rice farmers in Calauan will reflect on the effectiveness of the forecast system on helping rice farmers on. .. research using the prepared questionnaire of 20 rice farmers in each of the three barangays A survey about the usability of PAGASA’s weather information in the decision- making process of selected three