Impact of Alternative Grassand Uses
Attributes
Medium: Land
Country: Philippines
Analytical Framework(s): Economic Analysis
Study Date: 2002
Publication Date: 2003
Major Result(s)
| Resource/Environmental Good | PHP, per hectare (2002) |
PHP, per hectare (2014)1 |
USD, per hectare (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPV of IMPLUS land use system3 | 498.00 | 791.58 | 17.70 |
| FPLUS4 | 30,913.00 | 49,136.83 | 1,098.63 |
| TIMPLUS5 | 149,459.00 | 237,568.07 | 5,311.68 |
| TCLUS6 | 185,762.00 | 295,272.41 | 6,601.87 |
| TCSFLUS7 | 318,466.00 | 506,208.08 | 11,318.08 |
| TPLUS8 | 1,019,210.00 | 1,620,054.68 | 36,222.09 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Philippines (PHP) changed by 58.95% from 2002 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.59 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2025) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: This study aims to quantify and analyze the environmental and economic impacts of alternative land uses of grassland areas in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao. It is also aimed at identifying tree growing objectives and investment decisions of smallholder farmers. The study made use of interviews from 192 farmer-respondents, 86% of whom practiced tree-based farming systems and the rest planted short-term cash crops, with corn as the dominant crop.
Study Details
Summary: This study investigates which land use system would provide the most economic and environmental benefits to farmers of upland grassland areas in the Philippines. It analyses a number of different land use systems and focuses on the benefits that tree-based systems can bring. It also investigates the main reasons why farmers are reluctant to change from their current unsustainable cropping regimes. It finds that it would make economic and environmental sense for farmers to convert a large percentage of their farms over to tree planting. It also finds that, although this would help halt the current slide into low productivity and environmental ruin, many farmers are reluctant to make the move because of the economic risks involved. In light of this, the study suggest several policies to give farmers the assistance they need to make an environmentally-informed choice about which land use system to adopt.
Site Characteristics: Claveria, Misamis Oriental was chosen as the study site to calibrate the model for the following reasons: (i) it is considered a representative Imperata-dominated grassland area in the Philippines that meets the characteristics of interest for the study; (ii) the area has been subjected to long-term government and non-government interventions relating to soil conservation practices; (iii) there is significant adoption of soil conservation practices and transformation of Imperata grassland into tree-based land use systems; and (iv) availability of biophysical and economic data for model parameterization.Claveria is located 40 km northeast of Cagayan de Oro. It lies on an undulating plateau between a coastal escarpment and mountainous interior, ranging in elevation from 200 to 500 m above mean sea level. Soil characteristics in the site are as follows: welldrained oxisol, acidic (pH between 4.5 and 5.0), depth of soil profile is more than 1 m (Garrity and Agustin 1995). The study site has an average annual rainfall of 2000 mm for a five-year period (Limbaga 1993). Wet season is from May to October while dry season occurs for the rest of the year. Major crops planted include rootcrops, tomato, and maize, being the dominant crop as source of staple food and animal feed. Tree farming of fast-growing tree species (e.g., Gmelina arborea, Acacia mangium, and Eucalyptus deglupta), is emerging in the area.
Comments: The study was conducted only in one representative Imperata grassland site in the Philippines due to time constraint and financial considerations. In addition, modeling and simulation of alternative scenarios was done only at the farm level. Nevertheless, results from the study can be adapted to evaluate other Imperata grassland areas with similar socioeconomic and geographical settings. The methodology employed in the study can also be used to assess land use options in other Imperata-dominated uplands.