Competitive Readiness and Preparation of Farmers in Selected Barangays of Mankayan to ASEAN Integration

Abstract

The study was conducted in barangays Balili and Bulalacao of Mankayan, Benguet to determine the socio demographic profile of farmers, to find out how ready the farmers are in facing competition that will be posed by the ASEAN integration, to know how supportive the government is to the farmers in relation to the ASEAN integration, to know what are the preparations being taken by farmers towards being competitive, and to determine the farmers’ expectation as to the effect of ASEAN integration to the farming activities. A total of 75 farmers served as respondents of the study. The information needed were gathered through personal interview by the researcher. The respondents were selected randomly. The results reveal that the farmers are not ready to face the competition that will be posed by the ASEAN. Farmers are generally doing nothing to prepare for it except for some who are now adopting measures to produce vegetables that can meet international standards. In terms of support received from the government, farmers do not receive enough to ready them for the ASEAN integration. Finally, it was found out that the farmers generally expect that the ASEAN integration will bring negative effects to their farming enterprise.