Description

This paper examines the impacts that growth in nonfarm job opportunities may have on agricultural practices in the Philippine uplands. One possible scenario is that the increased opportunity cost of farm labor would decrease the use of labor-intensive cultivation. However, this could also cause decrease the use of labor-intensive conservation techniques. The authors use the upland of the Manupali watershed in Bukidnon, Philippines to assess these potential impacts. They find that nonfarm job growth will have the positive long term net impacts on the upland environment. However, they suggest that it is still necessary to support this trend with appropriate agricultural and environmental policies.