Understanding the agricultural support services for rice farmers using ordinal correlation and regression

Abstract

This paper assessed the rice farmers’ satisfaction with the agricultural support services in Carigara, Leyte, Philippines. A sample of 102 farmers was surveyed using a developed questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman rho correlation, and ordered logit regression. Results depicted that, on average, farmers are “satisfied (Median = 2)” with agricultural support services provided for their rice production activities. This implies that the agricultural needs of farmers are being met to improve their production level and income. The correlation analysis revealed that farm advisory is associated with rice seed subsidy (r_s = 0.201; p-value = 0.042) and crop insurance (r_s = 0.282; p-value = 0.004). This means that farmers need guidance and advice to improve their farming practices, adoption of agricultural technologies, and financial protection. Regression analysis showed that educational attainment (p-value = 0.037) is a predictor of rice seed subsidy; tenurial status (p-value = 0.011) and income (p-value = 0.096) are predictors of fertilizer subsidy; farm size (p-value = 0.052), tenurial status (p-value = 0.092) and income (p-value = 0.006) are predictors of crop insurance; and farm size (p-value = 0.062) is a predictor of farm advisory. This implies that the farmers’ satisfaction with the agricultural support services is associated with their profile. Hence, farmers must be provided with valuable information, innovative technologies, training, and technical assistance. Conclusively, agricultural support must be maintained and strengthened to significantly aid the farmers in their production activities and improve business operations. It is recommended that the government should increase the recruitment and training of extension workers to improve the ability of extension workers to reach and help more small-scale rice farmers obtain sustainable farming.