Author : Ontok, Medin D.

Summary : The study was conducted to establish a benchmark information of the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of Maguindanao corn farmers in Maguindanao Province. Their corn farming practices and rituals, and their reasons and beliefs in the use of such practices and rituals were also identified. The extent of their use of these rituals and the farming rituals that have been discountinued and reasons for such were determined as well. The study was done in Datu Paglas and Buluan Maguindanao. One hundred twenty-eight farmers were surveyed using an interview schedule. Frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation were used in data analysis. The average age of the respondents was 38.63 years old. Ninety-three percent of the farmers were married and more than one-half had 3-10 children. Almost one-fourth of them were migrants. The average schooling of the respondents was 3.17 years and more than half had one or two out-of-school children. Only 76.56 percent were members of the various organizations in the study areas while more than half had attended farmers' practical classes and seminars related to farming. Only 39.06 percent of the farmers owned the land they cultivate; the rest were tenants, lessees, mortgagees or borrowers. Almost all of them relied on corn farming as their major source of livelihood and most of them had P3,000 - P9,000 annual gross income. Majority of them did not follow the recommended farming practices in Maisagana; they had their own established ways of corn farming. To some extent, some still practiced rituals to solve their farming problems. However, some of the ritual believers used chemicals when they found it effective.