48
Z. Bird et al.
2013). Farming is the main occupation of communities in North Malaita. Socialdemographic for instance age, gender, education status, or farming experience does
contribute towards farmers’ perception on the factors affecting their food production leading to food insecurity (David and Abbyssinia 2017; Zhou et al. 2019).
These factors, under the influence of culture, folklore, and Christian beliefs, will
affect farmers’ judgments or attitudes towards the causes of impacts on their food
productions or subsistence farming.
Farmers’ Social-Demographic Profiles
Farmers are also involved in various income-earning activities, both in the formal and
informal sectors. The majority (82.6%) is fully engaged in farming (41.8% male and
40.8% female) while others (17.3%) are involved in both farming and other forms of
cash-earning activities. The incomes of farming households vary depending on the
sales of their products and can be as low as USD2 a week. About 48.0% of households
consist of 5–7 members, with a mean household size of 5.1. According to SINSO,
SIMoHMS, and PC (2017) national survey in 2015, the population of Malaita showed
a balance between average income-earning (USD66) and expenditure (USD61). This
is comparable to the mean income (USD49) in this study despite 65.3% of the
farmers’ income being well below the SINSO, SIMoHMS, and PC (2017) figures. A
study in Fiji also showed a similar trend for a rural population engaging in farming
(O’Meara et al. 2019). All age groups interviewed in this study frequently bought
food from the store and markets, corresponding to findings in Bottcher et al. (2019).
The middle-age category spent more on education because they were more likely to
have children in school, compared to the youth and elderly age groups. The youth
category did not mention spending on house repair as some live with their families
or have newly built thatched houses, which can last for two to three years.
The farmers interviewed have an average of 29.7 years of farming experience.
Older farmers are more likely to have experienced changes in the weather patterns
and to have more practical knowledge about crop management. Farmers with 41–
50 years of farming experience have significant farming knowledge, especially of
the traditional methods of nurturing the land and optimising production, followed by
those with 21–30 years of experience and 11–20 years of experience.
According to Bottcher et al. (2019), Horsey et al. (2019) and SINSO, SIMoHMS,
and PC (2017), about 20.0% of the Malaita population has never received any form of
formal education. This study found a corresponding figure, with 18.0% of the farmers
(14.0% female and 4.0% males) having received no formal education. The majority
of the farmers (24.4% male and 19.3% female) completed primary education. Thirtyfour women and 33 men never completed primary school. All three age groups have
a similar proportion of those who completed primary school whereas more youths
received tertiary level education.
Demographic characteristics of farmers play an important role in shaping the
perception that will determine whether to adopt or reject new ideas or practices
Z. Bird et al.
2013). Farming is the main occupation of communities in North Malaita. Socialdemographic for instance age, gender, education status, or farming experience does
contribute towards farmers’ perception on the factors affecting their food production leading to food insecurity (David and Abbyssinia 2017; Zhou et al. 2019).
These factors, under the influence of culture, folklore, and Christian beliefs, will
affect farmers’ judgments or attitudes towards the causes of impacts on their food
productions or subsistence farming.
Farmers’ Social-Demographic Profiles
Farmers are also involved in various income-earning activities, both in the formal and
informal sectors. The majority (82.6%) is fully engaged in farming (41.8% male and
40.8% female) while others (17.3%) are involved in both farming and other forms of
cash-earning activities. The incomes of farming households vary depending on the
sales of their products and can be as low as USD2 a week. About 48.0% of households
consist of 5–7 members, with a mean household size of 5.1. According to SINSO,
SIMoHMS, and PC (2017) national survey in 2015, the population of Malaita showed
a balance between average income-earning (USD66) and expenditure (USD61). This
is comparable to the mean income (USD49) in this study despite 65.3% of the
farmers’ income being well below the SINSO, SIMoHMS, and PC (2017) figures. A
study in Fiji also showed a similar trend for a rural population engaging in farming
(O’Meara et al. 2019). All age groups interviewed in this study frequently bought
food from the store and markets, corresponding to findings in Bottcher et al. (2019).
The middle-age category spent more on education because they were more likely to
have children in school, compared to the youth and elderly age groups. The youth
category did not mention spending on house repair as some live with their families
or have newly built thatched houses, which can last for two to three years.
The farmers interviewed have an average of 29.7 years of farming experience.
Older farmers are more likely to have experienced changes in the weather patterns
and to have more practical knowledge about crop management. Farmers with 41–
50 years of farming experience have significant farming knowledge, especially of
the traditional methods of nurturing the land and optimising production, followed by
those with 21–30 years of experience and 11–20 years of experience.
According to Bottcher et al. (2019), Horsey et al. (2019) and SINSO, SIMoHMS,
and PC (2017), about 20.0% of the Malaita population has never received any form of
formal education. This study found a corresponding figure, with 18.0% of the farmers
(14.0% female and 4.0% males) having received no formal education. The majority
of the farmers (24.4% male and 19.3% female) completed primary education. Thirtyfour women and 33 men never completed primary school. All three age groups have
a similar proportion of those who completed primary school whereas more youths
received tertiary level education.
Demographic characteristics of farmers play an important role in shaping the
perception that will determine whether to adopt or reject new ideas or practices