Influence of Gender and Level of Education of Farmers on Sugarcane Productivity in the Visayas, Philippines: A Factual Phenomenon
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11594/Keywords:
descriptive-correlation, Kruskal-Wallis H test, normality test, Mann-Whitney Test, farmers’ gender, formal education, non-formal education, informal educationAbstract
Agriculture is the backbone of an economy. In the Philippines, sugarcane farming is a major dollar industry that contributes an average income of Php 70 billion per year. The study aims to examine the influence of farmers’ gender and the level of education on sugarcane productivity in the Philippines. The descriptive-correlation method was employed in the study. The instrument used was a validated survey questionnaire with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84. The 320 sugarcane farmers were randomly identified at the seven locations in the Visayas area of the Philippines. Results indicate that the majority of the farmers are male (69.7%), secondary level (47.2%), with a low average production of <49 TC/ha. (53.9%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) implied that there’s a significant difference in the production of sugarcane among the different locations in the Philippines (alpha = 0.05). Furthermore, results implied that farmers' gender and their level of education significantly influence the production (alpha = 0.01). Relatively, the farmer's gender and their level of education strongly correlate with production (alpha = 0.01). Overall, the results implied that farmers’ gender and level of education have a direct contribution to production. Hence, the government should play a vital role in improving the agricultural educational system. The budget for education should be increased, and more scholarship be made available, especially for students who will be taking courses in the agriculture field. More seminars and updates for aged and female farmers should be designed by the government.
Downloads
References
Abdisa, T., Mehare, a. & Wakeyo, M. B. (2024). Analyzing the Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Ethiopia. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research. Vol 24 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100960
Balita, C. (2024). Area planted/Harvested of Sugarcane for Raw Sugar Philippines 2023: by Region. https://www.statista.com
Boahen, E. A., Dankwah, J. B., & Berko, D. (2024). Understanding the Gender Gap in Productivity in Agricultural Production Among Smallholder Cereal Growers in Rural Ghana. Cogent Economics and Finance. 12(1); 1 – 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2024.2318979
Cardoso, L. A. S., Farias, P. R. S., Soares, J. A. C., & De Oliveira, J. (2024). Planted Area, Productivity, and Sugarcane Production in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science. 30(4): 686-701. https://www.agrojournal.org/30/04-18pdf
Dube, A. K., Ozkan, B., Ayele, A. A., Idabe, D., & Aliye, A. (2018). Technical Efficiency and Profitability of Potato Production by Smallholder Farmers: The Case of Dinsho District, Bale, Zone of Ethiopia. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics. 10(7); 225 – 235. https://doi.org/10.5897/JDAE.2017.0890
Gawas, O. M., Naik, V. G., Jachak, R. S., Malave, D. B., & Borate, H. V. (2024). Economic Analysis of Sugarcane Cultivation in Sinhhudurg District of Maharashtra State. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. 7(10; 155 – 161. https://doi.org/1033545/26180723.2024.v710C.1204
Gebre, G. G., Isoda, H., Rahut, D. B., Amekawa, Y., & Nomura, H. (2019). Productivity: Evidence from Maize Farm Households in Southern Ethiopia. Geo Journal. 86(2); 843 -864. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10098
International Sugar Organization. (2023). Inputs, Costs, and the World Sugar Industry. MECAS (23) 05. page 2. https://www.isosugar.org
Kergilet, H. S. & Biru, M. W. (2019). Effect of Farmers Education on Farm Productivity: Evidence from Small-scale Maize Producing Farmers in North Bench District, Bench Maji Zone. Humanities and Social Sciences. 9(17); 26 – 34. https://doi.org/10.7176/RHSS/9-17-04
Mavaliya, M., Jahanara, Khakhal, A. & Chopra, B. (2025). Relationship Between the Selected Independent Variables of Sugarcane Growers and Their Level of Knowledge About the Recommended Package of Practices. International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development. 8(5):205-207. https://www.doi.org/10.33545/26180723.2025.v8,i5c.1889
Mishra, P., Pandey, C. M., Singh, U., Gupta, A., Sahu, C., & Keshri, A. (2019). Descriptive Statistics and Normality Tests for Statistical Data. Annals of Cardia Anaesthesia. 2(1); 67. https://doi.org/10.4103/aca.ACA_157_18
Nlebem, B. S. & Omoruka, O. P. (2019). Impact of Agricultural Education on Agricultural Productivity of Women Farmers in Omuna Local Government Area of Rivers State. International Journal of Psychology & Social Development. 7(2); 83 – 90. https://www.seghipapublications.org
Oduro-ofori, E., Aboagye, A. P. & Acquaye, N. A. E. (2014). Effects of Education on the Agricultural Productivity of Farmers in the Offinso Municipality. International Journal of Development Research. 4(9); 1951 – 1960. https://www.journalijdr.com
Gebisa, B., Shumela, Z., & Regassa, G. (2019). Gender Difference and Its Effect on Agricultural Productivity: The Case of Yubdo District in Ethiopia. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 15(2); 54 – 59. https://doi.org/105829/idosi.wjas.2019.54.59
Nigam, R. K., Singh, P., & Singh, J. S. (2026). Microbial and Physicochemical Approaches in Sustainable Management of Sugar Mill Effluent. Green Energy and Environment Technology. 5; 1 – 31. https://doi.org/105772/geet.2025.0125
Oñal, P. A., Neri, V. A., & Jinon, R. J. (2022). Chal-lenges in Sugarcane Extension: The Cur-rent Guide in Increasing Productivity at a Lower Cost. Lambert Academic Publishing. Republic of Moldova, Europe.
Oñal, P. A. Jr., Panes, N. P., & Neri, V. A. (2021). Level of Productivity of Sugarcane Farmers and Farm Profile in the Visayas, Philippines. European Journal of Agricultural and Rural Education (EJARE). 2(12): 16-24. https://scholarzest.com/index.ph/ejare/article/view/1527
Oñal, P. A. Jr., Buenafe, O. B., & Eraldo, V. M. (2022). Farm Profile of Sugarcane Farmers in the Visayas, Philippines, and Their Productivity Level. Revista Review Index Journal of Multidisciplinary. 2(1): 01-09. https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm2022.v02.n01.001
Oñal Jr., P.A., Jinon, R. J., & Martinez, L. B. (2022). The Extension Services and the Level of Productivity of Sugarcane Farmers in the Visayas, Philippines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research. 3(1), 90-101. https://dx.doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.03.01.10
Oñal Jr., P.A., Andrade, F.E., & Oñal, P.M.M. (2025). Farmers’ Aspirations, Happiness, and Sugarcane Production in the Visayas, Philippines. International Journal of Multidisciplinary: Applied Business and Education Research. 6(9), 4364-4376. https://dx.doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.09.12
Philippine Statistics Authority (2024). 2022 Census of Agriculture, Fisheries, Agricultural Households, and Operators. https://www.psa.gov.ph
Rodgers, Y. V. D. (2018). The Cost of Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity: Five African Countries. UN Women Policy Report. https://doi.org/10.7282/00000262
Sugar Regulatory Administration (2026). Philippine Sugar Statistics for Crop Year 2024-2025. Quezon City, Philippines. http://sra.gov.ph/view_file/sugar_statistics/OvXbQG2fPOceZOu
Sulaiman, B., & Jassolov, D. (2018). The Gender Gap in Agricultural Productivity in Kyrgyzstan. 2018 International Conference on Eurasian Economics. Eurasian Economies Association. https://doi.org/10.36880/C10.02039
Wickramasinghe, K. P., Kong, C. Y., Lin, X. Q., Zhao, P. F., Mehdi, F. L., X. J., Liu, X. L., Mao, J., & Lu, X. (2024). Photoperiodic and Lighting Treatments for Flowering Control and Its Genetic Regulation in Sugarcane Breeding. Heliyon. 10(7); e28531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28531
World Bank (2019). Employment in Agriculture (% of total employment). Modeled ILO Estimate. https://www.data.worldbank.org/indicator
Zegiri, M., Shabu, E., Bicoku, Y., & Pire, E. (2016). Level of Dairy Farmers in KOSOVO. STOCARSTVO. 70(2); 51- 60. https://www.academia.edu/publication/82299729
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Paulino A. Oñal, Jr., Paulino Miguel M. Oñal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access).
