--lack of sufficient grain production to meet year-round on-farm feed requirements (mixed, livestock systems)
-lack of high quality forage throughout the year.
-disease and insect damage, including high populations of nematodes in soil (crop, mixed systems)
Talks with extension agents supplemented this list to include:
-livestock breeding and pest problems (mixed, livestock systems)
-difficulties in understanding soil fertilization recommendations (crop, mixed systems)
-problems with fertilization timing and rates (crop, mixed systems)
-lack of good and/or inexpensive veterinary services,
leading farmers to experiment with treatments (mixed, livestock systems)
--high parasitism and infant mortality rptes among hogs, due to poor facilities and farmers' beliefs that improvements are not economical (mixed, livetsock systems)
Many of these problems are related to the kinds of
constraints to which farm households in the region are subject. The most critical constraints operating on the clientele as identified in the Sondeo are now presented. They may be divided into endogenous types, or those which can be directly modified by the farm unit, and exogenous types, or those beyond the farm unit's direct ability to change. The term constraint as used here refers to any condition or practice which limits the achievement of some goal.
Endogenous Constraints
Two major endogenous constraints were identified management, time and capital.
Management time is a constraint because most members of the clientele have off-farm employment, or rely upon the labor of family members who cannot devote full time to the farm. The steady and higher wages offered by town employment draws youth away; black youth particularly leave the rural area. The consistency of town wages makes dependency upon such income critical for many households. The diversity of enterprises likewise places seasonally excessive demands on management time.