Factors Influencing Resource Allocation on Traditional Farms

Land and labor are the key inputs that traditional farmers have at their disposal, therefore maximizing the use of those inputs is an important factor for the farmer. The farmers decisions about where to allocate his/her resources make up the specific “farming system” that he/she has developed to maximize use of land and labor taking into account the biological, spatial and seasonal characteristics of agriculture. Thus, the factors that influence resource allocation and cropping choices are the biological, spatial, and seasonal factors that negatively affect levels of output on the farm. Biological factors include pests, diseases, and natural conditions (weather) which reflect the fact that crops are living things unlike machines which are not susceptible to weather changes, disease or pests. The spatial factor that influences resource allocation refers to the limited amount of land that a traditional farmer by definition has, therfore traditional farmers must allocate resources to maximize use of the limited land that they have. Seasonal factors refer to the highs and lows that occur in the use of labor because labor is used intensively during harvest times and significantly less at other times. In response, farmers develop a farming system which allocates resources in such a way as to make use of labor most intensively all year round. The kinds of farming systems that traditional farmers have developed address the constraints or characteristics of agriculture in order to make best use of land and labor and increase overall average production. Therefore, the farmer must evaluate any new innovation taking into account how it will affect the whole farming system and therefore overall production. While adopting a new innovation or farming practice may seem more profitable or more productive at first glance, it might increase production of one crop but come at the expense of increased risk, or a decrease in the ability to use land and labor as efficiently as they had