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Survival Strategies of Upland Farm Households in Labney, Mayantoc, Tarlac
Dissertation Abstract:
The study sought to explore the survival strategies of upland farm households in Labney, Mayantoc, Tarlac. The data collection methods were key informant, survey, and participant-observation. Tools and techniques used included interviews, questionnaire, interview schedule, observations, participation, and field notes. The descriptive statistical tools used in the analysis were frequency, percentage, rank-order, mean, median, standard deviation, McNemar text, z-score, and contingency coefficient.
Data showed that upland farm households classified as Christians, Mestizos, and Aetas had various coping mechanisms for survival. They all engaged in diversified on-farm and off-farm work such as kaingin (slash-and-burn) and alluvial flat land farming, hired labor, livestock raising, cottage industries, fishing, gathering forest products, and charcoal production. The Mestizos were the most entrepreneurial while the Aetas had the least sources of income.
Upland farm households turned to internal and external institutional systems of support and assistance. Indigenous institutions were sources of land tenancy, pauwi, curing patterns, bayanihan, pagdadamayan, and kinship support. External support systems included the businesswomen, credit, transportation facilities, and government and non-government agencies.
Although very limited, assistance from government institutions helped the people survive. Scarcity adjustment or tightening of belts was another survival strategy. All possible remedies to make both ends meet were done. Thirteen scarcity adjustment techniques used by upland households were observed. Migration, mostly rural to rural, was the ultimate strategy used after exhausting all possible remedies in the village. The Christians were the most migratory group.
Occupations were mostly hired labor in rice farming. Finally, despite the need of uplanders to prevent soil erosion and forest destruction, conservation methods used to avoid environmental degradation were insufficient.
A number of conditions and consequences were brought about by the survival strategies pursued. Functional coping conditions and consequences which were supported in varying degrees were: earning enough for food, satisfaction of other basic needs, and wages earned while on migration benefit the upland households. As to the dysfunctional conditions and consequences, substantial proofs were obtained on insecurity, powerlessness, environmental degradation, and the return of unsuccessful migrants to the village. Infant mortality and illness were also observed in some families. Few families were observed to suffer from undernourishment, child household neglect, lack of family solidarity, absenteeism, and indebtedness.