Author : Landicho, Leila Dimayuga

Summary : This study was conducted in the pilot communities of the Conservation Village
Program in Albay, Ifugao and Negros Oriental to analyze the development pathways that
were chosen by the upland farming communities and their outcomes on the sustainability
status based on seven community capitals, namely, natural, human, social, financial,
physical, political and cultural capitals. Using focus group discussion to 147 participants;
farm household survey to 230 upland farmers; farm visit and direct observation; key
informant interview, and secondary data gathering, this study revealed that the upland
farmers were smallholders, whose biophysical conditions of the farms were generally
characterized as marginal areas.

Five dominant development pathways were identified in this study. These include
'monocropping in contour'; 'multiple cropping in contour'; 'agroforestry'; 'agroforestry
with non-farm activities'; and 'multiple cropping/ monocropping without contour'.
Multinomial logistic regression revealed that socioeconomic characteristics such as
income and age were the major determinants in the farmers' choice of development
pathways. The development pathways contributed to a high level of social, human and political capitals; moderate level of financial, physical and natural capitals; and low level
of cultural capital. This study formulated a framework of development pathways towards
sustainable upland farming communities in the Philippines.