Some factors associated with the value-orientation of farmers in a dairy pre-cooperative
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Date
1987
Authors
Patrick Lally
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Abstract
This study aimed at establishing what relationship, if any, existed between selected social factors and their influence on the value-orientation in the Pre-cooperative venture.
The data were gathered through a questionnaire. They were analyzed using mean, range, standard deviation, multiple regression, correlation and analysis of variance procedures.
Respondents were farmers associated with the San Antonio Dairy Pre-cooperative, Barangay San Antonio, Munoz, Nueva Ecija.
Although the project had been operating successfully for a number of years, the 1985-86 period marked a significant downturn in both milk (from carabao) production and farmer participation. A review of related literature established that a largely unquantifiable force called "values and norms," was often cited as the cause in the development of such a situation particularly when economic factors were shown to act in as impedimentary way to the project.
A survey of 100 farmers was undertaken to determine their socio-demographic characteristics and attitude toward various hypothetical social situations. The value-orientations under investigation related to: Family control, Political independence, Impersonal enforcement of norms, Efficacy, Aspirations.
null hypotheses were constructed around the premise that there was not endency for the farmers' value-orientations to be "traditional" and also that there is no significant relationship between selected social and value-orientation characteristics. The results verified he hypotheses to be true with one exception. The respondents' number of years at school was found to be a significant factor in the development of values. When subjected to correlation analysis, the degree of predictability enabled from a knowledge of the respondents' length of school was 4.2%. Thus, although educational was significant by itself, it accounts for only a small percentage in the factors influencing value formation.
The study concluded that labels such as "traditional" may be inappropriate when affixed to the value-orientation of farmers even in relatively poor rural areas. These rural dwellers do not resist all changes and appear to be selective toward innovation on the basis of much broader considerations than simply their values. Likewise, the complexity of demands made not only by economic but also by social relationship forces would appear to seriously complicate the issue of understanding farmer behavior in such environments.
Recommendations, developed as a result of the study, pointed out the need for more emphasis to be given to the re-enforcing role of conformity to particular social roles and relationships that are evident in an environment. Concentration on the role of values per se may tend to force the researcher into the more speculative area of internal constructs which are difficult to assess in vivo.