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Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research

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Peer-reviewed publication

What Influences Awareness of Farmers on Sustainability of Bioenergy Feedstock in the Philippines?

The paper presents an analysis of bioenergy potential in the Philippines by understanding farmers’ awareness on sustainable bioenergy production using different feedstock, i.e. first generation (i.e. sugar-rich crops, starch-rich crops and oil-rich crops) and second-generation (i.e. agriculture/forest residues, fast-growing trees, and perennial grasses). Such an assessment is critical for many developing countries including the Philippines due to the impact on food security, particularly as a result of the negative effects of bioenergy feedstock production and processing on increasing water scarcity and agricultural land pressure. Moreover, farmers play a key role in the production of biomass feedstock for bioenergy, so it is important to understand their level of awareness on the effects of bioenergy not only on food security but also economy as a whole. Field survey was conducted with farmers in three regions including Calabarzon, Central Visayas and Davao. The paper presents the results of the factor and cluster analyses, which were applied to determine the socio-economic profiles that characterise the opinions of the farmers. The survey results showed that the diversity of awareness across regions is influenced not only by the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers but also sources of information about bioenergy.