Insurance Strategies

Buguias farmers employ several tactics in anticipating the vagaries of price. Some simply observe what crops others are planting, especially in the premier vegetable districts along the Mountain Trail, and then try to avoid whatever seems currently popular. But information is always too limited to make this strategy truly effective; only a fraction of Benguet's farms are visible from the road between Buguias and Baguio. Buguias farmers also watch the arrival of the first rains with great interest, since most Benguet gardeners depend on rainfall. If precipitation comes late, harming dry fields on the Mountain Trail, cabbage planted on Buguias's irrigated fields may be more remunerative than usual. Farmers even try to anticipate typhoons; if they foresee a large storm they will quickly harvest any relatively nonperishable crop, such as cabbage, and ship it forthwith to a storehouse in Baguio or Trinidad. If the typhoon in-

deed strikes, these prescient farmers will profit; if not, they will incur a loss, since their now-wilted cabbage will command a reduced price.

Many farmers would ideally cultivate a mix of crops in all seasons to spread their chances. But those with small gardens (0.2 hectares or less) have limited options. Wealthier growers are able to cultivate more diverse assemblages, and a few large growers living elsewhere in Buguias municipality even maintain widely separated garden plots located in different climatic zones—a strategy that provides calamity insurance without diminishing the possibility of a jackpot. Outside development experts have advised farmers to stagger their plantings even in individual fields to gain security against market drops (FAO 1984:22), but this practice has not spread to Buguias. Such serial plantings complicate labor scheduling, and, more importantly, they decrease the chance of superprofits.

Cropping strategies also vary because of partial specialization. Each crop requires specific techniques that are unevenly known by different farmers. Some individuals devote more time than others to mastering the culture of demanding vegetables such as celery. These semispecialist growers hope to gather at least above-average yields, if not extraordinary profits. Crop periodicity adds still another dimension. Young farmers especially seek to maximize their jackpot chances by squeezing in as many crops as possible. By concentrating on fast-growing vegetables and by carefully timing seedbed planting and transplanting schedules, they can harvest four or even five crops from a single irrigated plot. Such frenetic work, however, discourages most farmers.