Smallholder Tree Growing in Philippine Back Yards: Homegarden Characteristics in Different Environmental Settings - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 62

except for Namnama, another important reason. The selling of excess products is
of moderate importance, with 25 percent or more of the total potential score for
Moldero, Dy Abra and Malibabag (score: 2.4-4.7). Likewise “lack of income from
outside farms” is rated moderately important (score: 1.2-3.9), with at least 20 per-
cent of the total score for Moldero and Malibabag (as opposed to 12 percent for the
other villages). Homegarden products are preferably sold by house-to-house sale
and not at local markets where prices are generally lower due to competition.
The hilly lowland farmers in Namnama and Baliuag perceive the production of
excess crops to generate cash as a minor homegarden role (score: 0.9 and 0.7). Farmers
rate “the easy monitoring of crops close to their house” as a more important homegar-
den function instead (score 2.3 and 2.9 respectively). Like in Dy Abra, farmers (exclud-
ing those engaged in logging) derive virtually all their cash income from farms.
In the lowland village Malibabag, 90 percent of all households focus on pigs
as homegarden market product. In the other villages, households sell mixtures of
homegarden products, particularly pigs, goats, chicken, fruits and vegetables. Yet in
Dy Abra and Namnama, garden products mainly serve for home consumption (61
and 80 percent respectively). Whereas farmers in Namnama clearly depend on agri-
culture for their livelihood, (illegal) logging forms an attractive alternative for farmers
in Dy Abra who live near the closed-canopy forest: logging generates a gross annual
income of about PhP 14,500 based on the hauling of 48 logs per year.
The convenience of “having fresh food close to the kitchen” is another function
of moderate importance (average score: 1.6-4.5). In Dy Abra, this is also partly
because “the house is far from markets and shops” (49 percent of total score as
opposed to 22 and 21 percent for Namnama and Baliuag, and 12 percent for both
Moldero and Malibabag; Table 2.8). Other reasons for “having fresh food close to
the kitchen” are related to the freshness and the healthiness of garden food prod-
ucts. In Malibabag and also Namnama, farmers refer to the importance of having
“bio-food”, i.e., fruits and vegetables not treated with chemical pesticides. Finally,
the convenience of having always fresh food readily available in case visitors arrive
is another valuable interpretation.
Other, mostly lower-ranked reasons for having a homegarden refer to socio-cultural,
aesthetic or environmental functions (see Table 2.8). Homegarden product exchange
can be pre-arranged or not arranged. An example of the former is an arrangement
between a farmer and a shop owner, with the former providing fruits to the shop and
receiving canned or processed food in return. The latter refers to both “conditional
sharing”, i.e., the sharing of food with neighbors, family or friends with the expectation
to receive something in return during times of shortage or need, and “unconditional
sharing”, i.e., to come closer to neighbors, help poor friends or create a good image or
status as an industrious, hard-working family among fellow villagers. Imitative behav-
ior also plays a role as farmers refer to nice and productive homegardens of neighbors
as a major stimulus of making such a garden themselves (score: 0.5-3.4). Being forced
to ask neighbors for food during times of shortage is considered an embarrassment for
many, as is evident from the “no-need-to-ask-neighbors-for-food” response of house-
holds having primarily a garden for daily food consumption.
Branches of homegarden trees removed by trimming or broken by strong winds
serve as a small, yet essential, easy-to-get source of fuelwood. This is particularly true