Tree Growing on Farms in Northeast Luzon (The Philippines): Smallholders’ Motivations and Other Determinants for Adopting Agroforestry Systems - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 80

Table 3.3 Perennial arrangement, farm system components and tree density for “fields-with-
trees”, specified for the different agro-eco zones, i.e., uplands (n = 75), hilly lowland (n = 16) and
lowland (n = 20), in the Cagayan Valley, the Philippines
Planting systems Number of fields (%)

Upland Hilly lowland Lowland Total (n = 111)

Perennial arrangement :

Boundary planting 56 69 70 61

Tree plantation 30 25 25 28

Mixed cropping systems 14 6 5 11

System components:

Agrisilvicultural 48 44 70 51

Pure perennial 29 25 25 28

Agrisilvopastoral 20 31 - 18

Silvopastoral/piscicultural 3 - 5 3

Tree density (individuals ha −1 ):

<25 25 47 19 28

25-50 14 27 25 19

51-100 18 13 19 17

>100 41 13 38 36

were of wild origin. Nowadays farmers purposively plant trees in their farms with
specific objectives in mind. In upland areas larger stocks of naturally growing trees
exist, which corresponds to the idea that natural tree stocks disappear, or are
depressed by regular weeding, with increasing land use intensification. The most
common species planted in fields, either in single stands or in combination with
other tree species and seasonal crops are listed in Table 3.4 (Photos 3.1 and 3.2).

3.3.2 Farmers' Motivations and Perceptions of Tree Growing

on Farm Fields

Trees are grown in farm fields for various reasons (Table 3.5). Timber trees (TT)
are usually grown for home use, mostly for house construction but also for furni-
ture, and to a lesser extent for commercial purposes. Fuelwood provision is a minor
motivation for growing trees in a field except for the lowlands where 11 percent of
the fields are grown with trees for a dual purpose, i.e., timber and fuel provision.
Fruit trees (FT) are planted to meet household fruit needs and - to a somewhat
lesser extent - sell at the market. There are various other, minor reasons for growing
trees, i.e., to provide for shade (TT and FT), to diversify household income (TT and
FT), to control soil erosion (TT) and to serve as a pension provision (TT and FT).
There are no significant differences in motivations to plants trees among the agro-
eco zones except for the timber trees in the lowlands, having a second important
role as providers of fuelwood.