Profitability Analysis of Irradiated Carrageenan as a Biostimulant in Small-Scale Rice Farming in Selected Provinces in the Philippines

iIrradiated carrageenan as a biostimulant was introduced as an alternative to the exclusive use of inorganic fertilizers and chemicals in crop production. This study aimed to contribute to the literature in assessing the farm profitability of using irradiated carrageenan as a biostimulant in small scale rice production in selected provinces in the Philippines. Rice production data with and without the use of irradiated carrageenan were collected from 117 purposely selected farmers during the 2017 dry season. Descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis, and profitability ratios were employed. Results showed that the farmer respondents were, on average, 57 years old, male, reached high school, and were members of farmer groups. Findings included that the average yield of farms increased from 3.5 MT/ha to 4.4 MT/ha, on average, when the farmers used the biostimulant. Consequently, the rice farmers earned an average increase in gross margin of Php 17,000 per ha. The computed benefit-cost ratio was also higher at 3.04 when the carrageenan biostimulant was applied to the rice farm. As rice is the most important staple food in the study area, understanding the farmers’ levels of profitability can assist policy makers in creating enhancing policies that would further enhance rice farmers’ incomes. The results are also encouraging for rice researchers and extensionists to further develop and promote biostimulants such as irradiated carrageenan in augmenting rice farmers’ incomes.