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 71

3.1 Introduction
Land-use intensification takes place in many developing countries where a large
part of the steadily expanding population still depends on land and agriculture for
their livelihood. The process of intensification tends to have a negative effect on the
environment and hence sustainable alternatives are being sought. It is generally
accepted that the integration of trees in agricultural systems - in the form of various
agroforestry systems - on humid sloping land is a road to follow in order to enhance
sustainability in the cultivation of marginal lands. For example, Fujisaka and Sajise
(1986) propose agroforestry as a sustainable upland farming alternative for sloping
land in the Philippines. However, there exists a gap between the theoretical world
of opportunities associated with agroforestry, and its actual status in practice.
Various researchers have addressed the question why it has been so difficult to
translate this concept from theory into practice (e.g., Vosti et al. 1997; Bannister
and Nair 2003; Mercer 2004). One explanation is sought in former generalization
in terms of the applicability of a given agroforestry practice. Similar practices were
introduced at a wide scale in diverse regions during the early years of agroforestry
promotion, as it was believed that these were the sole answer to most land-use con-
straints. Over the years more solid research resulted in the development of more
diverse and efficient systems well adapted to local conditions and the disqualifica-
tion of other previously widely applied systems because of proven unsuitability at
household or field level (Sanchez 1999; Adesina and Chianu 2002).
Another reason for limited success of on-farm tree growing is the inadequate
understanding of what factors control the adoption of tree-based technologies and
how such technologies can be best designed in order to contribute to sustainability
and high environmental value and economic performance. Factors that control
adoption are likely to vary per tree-based system and with socio-economic and bio-
physical conditions. In a synthesis of adoption studies, Mercer (2004) point out that
particularly factors at household and field levels influence adoption and tree inte-
gration patterns. Others refer to farmers' adaptation of researcher-proposed tech-
nologies as a common factor in widespread adoption (Adesina and Chianu 2002;
Franzel et al. 2004).
Tree systems involving high risks face low adoption potential, given smallholders
are profit maximizers and risk minimizers. Farmers' decision-making is clearly con-
trolled by available household assets. Likewise it is influenced by farmers' awareness
of specific household and field constraints and their perception of what solutions are
most profitable and risk-safe under their socio-economic, institutional, and biophysi-
cal conditions of operation (Caveness and Kurtz 1993). Yet, much remains unknown
about the risk-levels of integrated tree systems versus other land uses. Recently a
study on farmers' risk perception comparing tree plantations to seasonal crops in
typhoon-prone areas of Northeast Philippines suggests farmers perceive trees as
slightly more risky and lower output-yielding crops (Snelder et al. 2007).
Perz and Walker (2002) show how various aspects of the household life-cycle
stages affect land use decision-making such as the duration of residence, the