Social capital and soil conservation: evidence from the Philippines

The formation of social capital is hypothesised to enhance collective efforts for soil conservation. The Landcare Program in the Southern Philippines promotes simple conservation practices in upland environments by supporting community landcare groups and municipal landcare associations, thus augmenting social capital. A study was conducted in 2002 to evaluate the Landcare Program, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques. In this paper the relationship between social capital formation and adoption of soil conservation is investigated. It is concluded that, although membership in a local landcare group was not a major factor in adoption, the Landcare Program as a whole created a valuable stock of bridging social capital, with significant benefits for long-term natural resource management.Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Social capital and soil conservation: evidence from the Philippines

The formation of social capital is hypothesised to enhance collective efforts for soil conservation. The Landcare Program in the southern Philippines promotes simple conservation practices in upland environments by supporting community landcare groups and municipal landcare associations, thus augmenting social capital. A study was conducted in 2002–2003 to evaluate the Landcare Program, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques. In the present paper, the relationship between social capital formation and adoption of soil conservation in theMunicipality of Lantapan is investigated. It is concluded that the Landcare Program as a whole created a valuable stock of bridging social capital, rapidly accelerating the adoption of contour farming measures, but that on-going support is needed to maintain this capital stock.landcare, social capital, soil conservation, the Philippines, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Economics of Smallholder Rubber Production in Northern Laos

In response to demand from China, rubber smallholdings are being established by shifting cultivators in Northern Laos, encouraged by government land-use policy. We examine the economics of smallholder rubber production in an established rubbergrowing village and model the likely expansion of smallholder rubber in Northern Laos. Data were obtained from key informants, group interviews, direct observation, and a farm-household survey. Latex yields were estimated using the Bioeconomic Rubber Agroforestry Support System (BRASS). A financial model was developed to estimate the net present value for a representative rubber smallholding. This model was then combined with spatial data in a Geographical Information System (GIS) to predict the likely expansion of rubber based on resource quality and accessibility.smallholder rubber, Laos, commercialisation, bioeconomic modelling, land-use change, Crop Production/Industries,

Living on the margin: Assessing the economic impacts of Landcare in the Philippine uplands

In the Philippines, about 38 per cent of the population resides in rural areas where poverty remains a significant problem. In 2006, 47 per cent of all households in Bohol Province fell below the national poverty line, with the percentage even higher in upland communities. These households often exist in marginal landscapes that are under significant pressure from ongoing resource degradation and rising input costs. This paper first explores whether the adoption of Landcare practices in a highly degraded landscape has resulted in improved livelihood outcomes for upland farming families in Bohol. Second, it analyses the potential for the piecemeal adoption of these measures to deliver tangible benefits at the watershed scale. Finally, using a BCA approach, these outcomes are compared to the costs of the research and extension projects that have helped achieve them.Landcare, Philippines, livelihoods, poverty, watershed, ACIAR,

Social capital and soil conservation: evidence from the Philippines

The formation of social capital is hypothesised to enhance collective efforts for soil conservation. The Landcare Program in the southern Philippines promotes simple conservation practices in upland environments by supporting community landcare groups and municipal landcare associations, thus augmenting social capital. A study was conducted in 2002–2003 to evaluate the Landcare Program, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques. In the present paper, the relationship between social capital formation and adoption of soil conservation in theMunicipality of Lantapan is investigated. It is concluded that the Landcare Program as a whole created a valuable stock of bridging social capital, rapidly accelerating the adoption of contour farming measures, but that on-going support is needed to maintain this capital stock

Agrarian Transitions in Sarawak: Intensification and Expansion Reconsidered

ISSN 1919‐0581Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo, has experienced the rapid conversion of forested land to large‐scale plantation agriculture in the past two decades, suggesting that capitalist agricultural expansion has been the driving force in the agrarian transition taking place. This paper draws on the seminal work of Ester Boserup to re‐examine the notions of agricultural intensification and expansion as they apply to agrarian change in a sparsely populated frontier territory such as Sarawak. By adopting a more detailed historical and geographical perspective, it is possible to discern three major agrarian transitions in Sarawak – the transition to shifting cultivation, the transition to smallholder cash crops, and the transition to large‐scale plantation agriculture. These transitions are partly overlapping in time and space, resulting in a layering, not only of different land‐use systems, but also of claims to tenure and territory, giving rise to a more highly contested and differentiated landscape than implied in a simple view of agricultural expansion. The paper concludes that expansionist agrarian policies that fail to acknowledge this complex historical and geographical layering invariably encounter the kinds of conflict, resistance, and losses experienced during the third agrarian transition in Sarawak

Social capital and soil conservation: evidence from the Philippines

The formation of social capital is hypothesised to enhance collective efforts for soil conservation. The Landcare Program in the Southern Philippines promotes simple conservation practices in upland environments by supporting community landcare groups and municipal landcare associations, thus augmenting social capital. A study was conducted in 2002 to evaluate the Landcare Program, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative techniques. In this paper the relationship between social capital formation and adoption of soil conservation is investigated. It is concluded that, although membership in a local landcare group was not a major factor in adoption, the Landcare Program as a whole created a valuable stock of bridging social capital, with significant benefits for long-term natural resource management

Processes Influencing the Successful Adoption of New Technologies by Smallholders

Many studies have examined the particular farm-level factors affecting the adoption of new technologies by smallholders. Using an ‘actor-oriented perspective’, this paper focuses on the larger processes at work in the development, dissemination and adoption of improved technologies. Three case studies of upland soil conservation projects in the Philippines are used to illustrate the argument that successful adoption depends on more than careful planning in research and the use of appropriate methodologies in extension. It depends on the timely formation of coalitions of key actors whose interests converge sufficiently that they can focus their resources and efforts on achieving change in agricultural systems. It also depends on critical external factors that are largely unpredictable. Newer approaches such as ‘participatory technology development’ are based on an appreciation of the evolving, adaptive and inherently participative nature of agricultural development processes. However, a broader, more flexible approach is needed which gives explicit recognition to the personal, cultural and political dimensions of coalition-building for technology development