Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Smallholder Tree Growing in Philippine Back
Yards: Homegarden Characteristics in Different
Environmental Settings
D.J. Snelder
Abstract
Although Asian homegardens have received fair scientific attention, the
Philippine homegardens form an exception to this rule. The objective of this chapter
is to explore the dynamics and diversity of 57 homegardens (size: 0.07-0.13 ha)
in five villages in the Cagayan Valley. Of the 155 plant species in total (>312 if
including ornamentals), 71 are tree species. When moving from forested uplands
to densely populated lowlands, homegardens become more diverse, better struc-
tured and higher in plant density. Likewise, they show increasing differentiation
towards tree crop mixtures with
Mangifera indica
(mango) and
Moringa oleifera
(horse raddish), non-tree crop mixtures with
Solanum melongena
(eggplant) and
Colocasia olotorius
(cocoyam) or
Ipomoea batatas
(sweet potato), and livestock
for selling purposes. Farmers' most important reasons for having homegardens
refer to household consumption. Yet, the selling of excess crops and livestock prod-
ucts is of increasing importance as income from farms decreases (due to smaller
sizes and lower soil fertility) being eventually inadequate to meet households' cash
needs. Garden products generate US$281 ± 944 per hectare (median: US$130) - or
US$73 ± 123 per homegarden (median: US$27) - at minimal or no input costs.
The annual gross income from gardens with livestock is higher, i.e., US$115 ± 72
per household (median: US$98).Yet, corn (major cash crop of farm fields) yields
a much higher gross income, i.e., US$676 ± 336 per hectare per year with inputs
varying from US$137 (without fertilizer) to US$250 (with) per hectare per crop-
ping cycle.
Keywords
Crop differentiation, crop mixtures, economic benefits, land-use inten-
sification, species diversity
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