Effects of the Extensive Use of Mechanization on Farm Labor Use and Patterns in Rice and Corn Production Systems in the Philippines

Abstract

The study assessed the status of farm labor use and changing patterns as a result of extensive mechanization in the farm labor sector. It showed that the extensive use of mechanization, specifically for land preparation, planting, harvesting, threshing, and shelling, decreased the demand for manual labor in terms of man-day per hectare requirement. The study indicated significant reports on the changes in labor arrangements in farm operations from planting-harvesting arrangement to land preparation-harvesting arrangement, payment agreement (daily wage to informal contract), and mode of contracting labor (hired to family labor). The study also showed significant reports of labor shifting of farm workers from on-farm to off-farm activities. Three (3) policy recommendations were provided as a result of the study: (1) organization and recognition of landless farmworkers; (2) provision of training, upskilling, and employment opportunities; and (3) integration of the organized landless farm workers as human capital input needed in the establishment of Farm and Fisheries Clustering and Consolidation Program (F2C2) of the government.