Prices and tree planting on hillside farms in Palawan

This paper investigates determinants of tree-planting decisions on low-inco me farms in the Philippines. The analysis quantifies the extent to which ag ricultural prices, price uncertainty, and farm-specific characteristics hel p to explain mango-planting decisions on hillside farms. Regression analysi s is applied to data on tree planting for 1981-94. Results indicate tree pl anting is positively correlated with mango prices and negatively correlated with prices of competing crops. Relative price uncertainty and farm size a lso play important roles in explaining tree-planting patterns. Implications for policies to encourage tree planting are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier S cience Ltd. All rights reserved.