COST-BENEFIT-ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF HEDGEROW INTERCROPPING IN THE PHILIPPINE UPLANDS

Considerable resources have been expended promoting hedgerow intercrop ping with shrub legumes to farmers in the Philippine uplands. Despite the resources committed to research and extension, persistent adoption by farmers has been limited to low cost versions of the technology in cluding natural vegetation and grass strips. In this paper, cost-benef it analysis is used to compare the economic returns from traditional o pen-field maize farming with returns from intercropping maize between leguminous shrub hedgerows, natural vegetation strips and grass strips . An erosion/productivity model, Soil Changes Under Agroforestry, was used to predict the effect of erosion on maize yields. Key informant s urveys with experienced maize farmers were used to derive production b udgets for the alternative farming methods. The economic incentives re vealed by the cost-benefit analysis help to explain the adoption of ma ize farming methods in the Philippine uplands. Open-field farming with out hedgerows has been by far the most popular method of maize product ion, often with two or more fields cropped in rotation. There is littl e persistent adoption of hedgerow intercropping with shrub legumes bec ause sustained maize yields are not realised rapidly enough to compens ate farmers for establishment and maintenance costs. Natural vegetatio n and grass strips are more attractive to farmers because of lower est ablishment costs, and provide intermediate steps to adoption. Rural fi nance, commodity pricing and agrarian reform policies influence the in centives for maize farmers in the Philippine uplands to adopt and main tain hedgerow intercropping.