Farmer preferences for rice varietal trait improvements in Nueva Ecija, Philippines: A latent class cluster approach

Using an experimental methodology based on investment games, this study examines whether smallholder rice farmers from Nueva Ecija, Philippines have heterogeneous preferences for improvements in ten rice varietal traits. On average, farmers invested the most in VTIs that can potentially reduce losses caused by lodging, insects, and diseases. A latent class cluster approach was employed to identify different segments of rice producing households and their distinct preferences. The identified clusters were characterised post-hoc using household and farm characteristics. We found four classes of farmers with distinct preferences for improvements in variety traits. The results also revealed that the clusters are significantly different in terms of household, farm, and marketing characteristics. The findings can guide breeding research in the development of varieties that have the traits farmers identified for improvement, and that will address distinct farmer segments and needs. Acknowledgement : We acknowledge funding support from the Lee Foundation Rice Scholarship Program and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the data collection. We also acknowledge the research scholarship received by the first author from the Australian Government Research Training Program. We are also grateful for the assistance provided by Ms. Jhoanne Ynion and Mr. Donald Villanueva from IRRI during the data collection.