SAVING PATTERN OF SMALL-SCALE WOMEN RICE FARMERS IN SAN JOSE, OCCIDENTAL MINDORO

Abstract

The study aims to assess the saving and investment pattern of women rice farmers in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. The study was conducted in the rice-producing barangays of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, namely: Mabini, Mapaya, and Mangarin from February to July 2017. The study population included all women farmers who were involved in different rice farming activities from production to marketing. The 48 respondents were randomly selected. Informed consent was sought before the conduct of the study. Descriptive statistics like mean, percentages, and frequency distribution were used to assess the women farmers' profile. While Pearson Moment Correlation was used to test the relationship between the variables. The result shows that the small-scale women farmers have a small household size and small farm sizes with an income above the poverty threshold. They "sometimes" save through cash and "frequently" save through non-cash. They "frequently" encountered problems in saving capacity. Further, farm size is significantly related to the savings pattern of women rice farmers. Socio-economic characteristics have no relationship with constraints to saving capacity. The study suggests using other variables to further determine the saving pattern and saving capacity of the women rice farmers.