Research Report No. 151A dramatic increase over the past fifteen years in domestic pork demand and production in the Philippines has created a potentially profitable opportunity for poor rural and agricultural households. In Southern and Central Luzon, the two biggest markets, however, smallholder pig producers hold only a minority share of total production compared to larger commercial farms. This report seeks to assess the scope for smallholders to remain in business by analyzing the relative profitability of small and large farms. Using field data from pig-producing households, the researchers assess the role of internal and external factors in determining a household's participation in production and marketing and examine the combination of technical and allocative efficiency exhibited by specific farms under particular circumstances. They conclude that the smallest-scale pig producers will not survive market competition and will require alternative occupations. Many others, however, could profit from pig production if policy and institutional changes ensure their access to inputs, to animal health services that can guarantee output quality, and to markets for higher quality output. These findings are a valuable contribution to poverty reduction efforts in the Philippines.
Achilles Costales is a livestock economist in the Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative (PPLPI) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Prior to joining FAO, he was an associate professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, where he undertook the leadership of the Systemwide Livestock Project.
Christopher Delgado is currently rural strategy and policy adviser in the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank. At the time of this study he was a senior research fellow in IFPRI's Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division and director of the Program on Livestock Market Opportunities, a joint initiative of IFPRI and the International Livestock Research Institute.
Maria Angeles Catelo is an associate professor of economics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
Ma. Lucila Lapar is a senior economist with the International Livestock Research Institute.
Marites Tiongco is a postdoctoral fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division of IFPRI.
Simeon Ehui is lead economist in the Sustainable Development Department of the World Bank (Africa Region). At the time of this study, he was Program Leader for Livestock Policy Analysis with the International Livestock Research Institute.
Anne Zillah Bautista holds a master's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska. At the time of this study she was a research assistant in the Department of Economics, University of the Philippines Los Baños.
The report is available for download in PDF format as an entire document or by chapter.
- Full Report
- Abstract
- Table of Contents, List of Tables, List of Figures, Foreword, Acknowledgments, and Summary
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Previous Work and Methodology
- Chapter 3: Participation and Nonparticipation in Market-Oriented Pig Production
- Chapter 4: Differences in Farm Structure and Performance between Independent and Contract Farming Smallholders
- Chapter 5: Farm-Specific Differences in Profit Efficiency and Their Sources
- Chapter 6: Policy Conclusions
- Appendix: The Contract Growing Scheme of the Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative
- References
- Report Covers
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