Production Practices and Harvesting Operations and Problems of Farmers in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija

The study aimed to identify the production practices, harvesting methods and harvesting problems encountered by farmers in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija. The descriptive method of research was used to describe the production practices and harvesting operations in terms of seed preference, preferred fertilizer, water source, planting operation, harvesting operation, sources of credit as well as the harvesting problems in terms of insect pests and diseases, low production, low price of Palay, and lack of post-harvest facilities. Results show that farmers preferred to use inbred seeds and inorganic fertilizer. Many of their rice fields are irrigated, coming from NIA. and more than half of the respondents are transplanting their crops. Furthermore, most of them use laborers in harvesting their crops, and almost all farmers depend on private individuals for credit. Also, the respondents often encountered problems which include insect pests and diseases, low production due to high cost of input and insufficient capital, and low price of Palay. In addition, many farmers agree that there are essential benefits of using modern technology in farming. It is recommended that farmers use the hybrid seeds as their input in planting their crops to increase their production and make use of machines in harvesting their crops to lessen their expenses and get credit to agricultural banks instead of private individuals avoiding higher interest rates.