2024 Research | SDG 5 – Gender Equality

The study employed a descriptive design using a quantitative approach to assess the training needs of secondary school faculty members in Angadanan, Isabela, Philippines. The respondents included male and female faculty, non-teaching staff, and students from secondary schools in the municipality, selected through purposive sampling. A self-made survey questionnaire was used to gather data on the personal information, training experiences, and training needs of the respondents. The questionnaire also included a 5-point Likert scale to assess the degree of knowledge and skills of both student and teacher respondents. The data analysis involved frequency and percentage distribution to determine the distribution of responses for each item in the questionnaire, providing insights into the training experiences, knowledge, skills, and needs of the secondary school faculty. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were used to assess the degree of knowledge or skills of the respondents. The study found that the majority of the faculty members are relatively young, with 75.6% falling within the age brackets of 21-40 years. The faculty members have advanced levels of communication, interpersonal, and pedagogical skills, but their ICT, leadership, technological, research writing and publication, entrepreneurship, mental health, and gender and development related skills are at an intermediate level. The most pressing needs among the faculty respondents are research writing and publication, ICT skills, and pedagogical skills. The majority of the student respondents are within the 11-15 years old age range, and the study suggests that the secondary schools in the municipality have a larger population of younger students compared to older students and a larger population of female students compared to male students. The study highlights the importance of addressing the diverse range of special needs among both students and faculty members through targeted interventions and support. The findings provide valuable insights that can inform the development of training programs and extension initiatives to enhance the skills and knowledge of the secondary school faculty and students.

Using the Most Significant Change (MSC) as its framework, this research documents community perspectives on the Save Our Species extension project’s socio-cultural and economic impacts. Key themes include changes in perceptions toward the Philippine crocodile, increased community participation in conservation, cultural and economic effects of conservation, empowerment of indigenous communities, establishment of the roles of local sanctuary guards, and provision of other livelihood opportunities. The findings offer insights into how Communication, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA) activities on conservation, as part of an extension project, can foster sustainable development and provide guidance for future initiatives aimed at ensuring the long-term
preservation of endangered species.

The study aimed to compare the profitability of small-scale monoculture and diversified yellow corn production farms in Cabagan, Isabela. It sought to characterize the socio- demographic profile of farmers, compare their farming practices, and determine profitability. The research was conducted through house-to -house survey of 30 farmers engaged in monoculture and 30 farmers practicing diversified farming. The findings revealed that oldr farmers predominantly practice both farming systems, with monoculture farming involving more male farmers (70%) and diversified farming having a higher proportion of female farmers (60%). Most farmers in both systems are married and have educational background ranging from elementary to high school levels. Income levels are generally low, with diversified farming showing a broader income distribution. In term of cultural management practices, monoculture farmers rely more on tractors (80%), mechanical seeders (75%), and herbicides (90%), ehile diversified farmers prefer traditional methods such as manual planting (65%), and araro (plowing)(60%). Monoculture farming incurs higher cash cost due to greater dependenceon fertilizers and labor, leading to potential soil degradation .In contrast, diversified farming employs a variety of water sources and integrates more manual labor in seed preparation, planting, and water management, resulting in lower input costs. The gross profit margin ratio for monoculture farming is 0.82, meaning they retain 0.82 centavos per every peso of income after covering the cost of goods sold, compared to 0.67 centavos for diversified farmers. Monoculture farming offers higher immediate profit margins but demands more input and is more susceptible to soil degradation and pest issues. Diversified farming, while yielding lower profit margins, provides sustatinability benefits through reduced input cost and labor savings.