Smallholder Tree Growing in Philippine Back Yards: Homegarden Characteristics in Different Environmental Settings - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 57

with squash, eggplant, ginger or coconut as cash crop. These data are a promising out-
come, indicating the considerably higher potential for the majority of the gardens par-
ticularly where fertilizers (either organic or chemical) are added and high-quality seeds
used. Input costs are generally low because there is no use of paid labor for homegar-
den work, whereas fertilizers and herbicides are hardly used and, if applied, mostly
left-over from those purchased for application on cash crops in farm fields. Most
households with livestock derive the largest part of their homegarden income from
livestock products, i.e., PhP 5,869 ± 3,695 per household (median: PhP 5,000).
Livestock is mostly fed with household waste and crop residues; if fodder is to be pur-
chased, input costs will be higher but part of these will be compensated through higher
output. Yet, compared to the income from cash crops on outside fields, the current
contribution of the overall low-input homegardens to the yearly income of the small-
holder farmers is small and also variable, even when taking into account the large dif-
ference in input costs between both types of land use. The annual gross income from
corn fields is PhP 34,457 ± 17,146 per hectare (median: PhP 28,140), with households
cultivating on average 1.9 ha of corn (mostly twice) per year. The variation in gross
income is attributed to variations in fertilizer application rates (chemical fertilizer
application can double the yield), seed quality and the practice of one or two harvests
per year (annual input costs vary both among households and between seasons, being
estimated for each cropping cycle at PhP 7,600 per ha if not fertilized and PhP 12,762
per ha if fertilized assuming seeds are bought once every four years). The local maxi-
mum gross income from rice is PhP 80,500-115,000 per hectare (maximum input
costs: PhP 23,625 per ha on average), based on two harvests per year. Whereas these
results suggest homegarden income is insignificant compared to rice or corn fields, its
crucial role in fulfilling emergency needs and supplementing low income in case of
crop failure remains. Estimates of the overall household income vary between PhP
5,000 and PhP 40,000 per year (average is about PhP 20,000).

2.5 Homegarden Types and Levels of Diversification

Within Specific Land Use Zones

Variations in homegarden characteristics may be related to diversification practices
in remote uplands, hilly grasslands and accessible lowlands. Hence, various tree -
and non-tree component characteristics are also discussed for each village and land
use zone separately.
Firstly, species richness and associated indices are presented in Table 2.6 for
each of the villages and land use zones. Species richness (excluding ornamentals)
is highest for the lowland village Malibabag with 32 species per garden on average
and lowest for the upland village Dy Abra with 18 species per garden. The
Shannon-Wiener diversity indices further indicate that the homegardens in the low-
land villages Moldero, Malibabag and Namnama are more diverse than those in
Baliuag and the upland village Dy Abra in terms of both tree and non-tree crops.
The differences in the eveness index are less pronounced: although Dy Abra has the
lowest index for tree crops (0.72 on average), meaning that the distribution of tree