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(Abdoellah et al. 2006) and homegarden size, with the small-sized (<0.4 ha) home-
gardens showing the highest crop species diversity (e.g., Kumar et al. 1994;
Drescher 1996). If, however, the homegarden is the only land available to the
household, food crops like cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) tend to dominate the spe-
cies composition (Wiersum 1982). Where households avail of other income
sources and purchase most of their food like in urban areas, domination by orna-
mental and aesthetic species is more likely (Drescher 1996). It should be men-
tioned, however, that apparent variations in species richness in the literature are
partly due to uncertainty whether the total numbers of species refer to a sample of
homegardens or a single plot (Hoogerbrugge and Fresco 1993). Likewise, it is
often unclear whether all species are identified including “wild” and other species
that have established themselves spontaneously.
2.1.1
Homegardens in Northeast Luzon: Uncertainties
About Their Status and Recent Development
There are only few studies on Philippine homegardens, also referred to as
halamanan sa tahanan or halamanan s bakuran . Among these are some earlier
studies discussing traditional homegarden systems (e.g., Sommers 1978) and some
recent publications on the establishment of allotment vegetable gardens in urban
areas like Cagayan de Oro city (e.g., Potutan et al. 2000; Holmer et al. 2003).
Homegardens have been promoted by popular movements like the Green Revolution
(a movement for countryside agricultural development) and the SAMAKA Program
(Samahan ng Masaganang Kakanin: a united effort to produce ample food for the
family; Hoskins 1973; Holmer et al. 2003). In the 1970s, over 70 percent of all
Philippine households maintained a homegarden. Yet, field evidence suggests that
the Philippine homegardens - particularly those established by migrants more
recently - seem less diverse in species composition and structure compared to the
Indonesian gardens and those developed under similar climatic conditions else-
where. No studies have been conducted to confirm this.
The objective of this study is to explore and explain, in terms of biophysical and
socio-economic characteristics, the dynamics and diversity among homegardens in
the Cagayan Valley. The underlying reason for addressing this objective is to deter-
mine whether there is need and potential for (more) species diversification and
higher production, as a first glimpse at these gardens suggest. Specific attention
will be paid to the proportion of tree and non-tree crop components and the relative
importance of subsistence versus commercial crops. Likewise, the study will inves-
tigate whether differences in homegarden characteristics are related to distinct
diversification in various land use zones, i.e., the remote uplands with a mixture of
forest and shifting and semi-permanent agriculture, the hilly grasslands with exten-
sive livestock grazing and increasing mono-cropping of corn and rice and the more
accessible lowlands with intensive agriculture. In summary, the following questions
will be addressed:
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