2. Part II: Farm Management Decisions
Investment and marketing decisions
Box 3 summarizes some of the key resource allocation decisions faced by farm families. Based on market information, the household decides which land and what labour is to be allocated to a certain commodity. The quality and price of seed can be considered, input of pesticides and fertilizer will be evaluated and, if the product is meant primarily for the market, to whom it will be sold. Even contract farming involves such management decisions.
Box 2: Biophysical Factors Climate · Rainfall level and distribution · Temperature · Solar radiation · Frost · Heavy or dry winds Soil · Depth · Stability · Fertility · Texture Landscape · Slope · Altitude · Exposure of lands to solar radiation · Exposure of lands to wind · Presence of frost holes Locality · Distance of fields from homestead · Scattered fields Biological organisms on the farm · Plant · Animals · Microorganisms · Aquatic life |
For example, if a need or market opportunity is identified for fuelwood, the family will have to choose what specific tree to plant, how and where to procure seed or seedlings, who will be responsible for its establishment and maintenance, what land will be used, what investment (labour, and materials) will be required, and how the products will be used or sold.
Box 3: Investment and Marketing Decisions Allocation of labour · Family labour · Off-farm employment Allocation of land · By commodity · By responsibility Allocation of money · For seeds (improved or own production) · For fertilizer and pesticides Acquisition of inputs · Credit · Supplies · Hired labour Marketing · Products · Market channels · Contract farming |
Production and conservation decisions
Given the above investment and market decisions, farmers must also make choices regarding management of the production process. A farmer realizing that the sustainability of his production system is endangered, will also try to identify means by which production can be sustained from year to year by minimizing damage to his resource base. Box 4 summarizes the sorts of choices he must make.
Decisions related to management of perennial crops for fuelwood may be related to stabilization of slopes and terraces, provision of dry-season fodder for livestock, and spatial arrangement of fuelwood trees so that they do not interfere too much with food crop production.
Box 4: Production and Conservation Decisions Production and management of agricultural enterprises · Perennial crops · Annual crops · Livestock/fish · Post-harvest processing Conservation practices · Crop management practices · Erosion control practices |
Conservation practices such as contour planning, vegetative erosion control, wind breaks and gully control all require additional labor and investment. Such investment must be weighed in relation to other income generating opportunities such as off farm employment or home-based industries that ensure guaranteed sources of revenue. For example, processing of charcoal is an off-season enterprise that may take farmers' attention away from longer-term conservation activities.
All these farm household decisions are influenced by information from outside. The next section is an attempt to group these off-farm factors systematically.
