17
CLIENTELE PROBLEMS AND PROPOSED
ALTERNATIVES IDENTIFIED 5Y TEAM
Problems and Critical Constraints Identified in the Sondeo
Farming systems projects must be able to identity
homogeneous farming systems on the basis of both internal systemic qualities (that is, coon enterprises, coon socioeconomic and cultural variables, similar ecological conditions) and coon problems faced by the farmers. Problem, as used here, refers to any condition for which an alternative is desired, or to a parameter value which needs to be identified. The Sondep identified the existence of a number of problems faced by- theclientele. many cut across all three classifications of production systems, while some were restricted to one type. The major problems included:
-rising costs of fertilizers; (poor soil fertility prevails across all production systems)
-erosion, caused by strong winds in Spring and loose topsoil conditions (crop, mixed systems)
-market difficulties, including variable or low prices, and limited outlets, (a.11 production systems)
-difficulties in obtaining credit because of other
restrictions, e.g., bank policies requiring the farmer to have crop insurance before making a loan, ridig production guidelines or land which is tied up in heirs estate and cannot be used as collateral (all production systems)
-insufficient or even annual cash flow (particularly crop systems)
-poor quality of labor (primarily crop systems)
-lack of alternative crops to corn, tobacco; lack of a stable grain crop (primarily crop, mixed systems)
-high costs of winter pasture and feod supplement (mixed, livestock systems)
-management time (all production systems)
-poor access to and/or knowledge about appropriate information and its sources (all production systems)
-unpredictable character of federal legislation regarding allotment systems, credit, market price supports and pesticide use (particularly crop systems)