Birth of Crops: a Phenomenological Study of the Perceptions of Farmers in using Modern Synthetic Fertilizers

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Agriculture is the backbone of one's country. In the past years, many farmers could not afford a progressive education and deeper knowledge about farming due to either time or money. Things have severely changed through the years. Most farmers now considered an advanced degree vital for agriculture, especially with the rise of recent technology such as fertilizers. In this study, the researchers primarily aimed to determine the experiences of farmers upon using modern synthetic fertilizers.

METHODS

The researchers used descriptive case study method of research. It is a qualitative approach that focused on the description and identification of currently existing phenomena. Three (3) participants of the study are farmers from Barangay Cabuco, Trece Martires City, Cavite who have experience in using modern synthetic fertilizers were selected by the used of purposive sampling. The study was conducted in Trece Martires City Senior High School and data was collected by the means of naturalistic approach.

RESULTS

This study aimed to determine the perception of farmers and how these common insights or perceptions affect the use of modern synthetic fertilizers. Based on the semi-structured interview conducted with the three (3) respondents,the researchers find out that modern synthetic fertilizer has a great effect on the quality of crops that these fertilizers provide high quality crops and other products. However, the researchers discovered that there's still the existence of unknowledgeable consumers who is unaware about essence of this kind of fertilizers. Furthermore, the researchers inferred that these common insights or perceptions cause the widespread usage of these modern synthetic fertilizers.

DISCUSSIONS

The results show that farmers are knowledgeable about the impact or effect of modern synthetic fertilizers and how it provides high quality of crops. However, there are still some consumers who are unaware about the benefits of modern synthetic fertilizers.