Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

28 Aug 2025

PH reproductive health law needs to better address contraceptive access for lower-income women

The implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law represents a major policy shift aimed at increasing access to...

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27 Aug 2025

Despite centuries of stigma, babywearing survives as a marginalized practice turned into a trend

For centuries, Indigenous communities in the Philippines and around the world have used baby carriers and slings to help them...

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13 Aug 2025

Food safety risk assessment will help the Philippines manage shellfish-related hepatitis A virus health risks

This study gathered information to establish baseline data on the potential risks of the hepatitis A virus (HAV) in the...

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08 Jul 2025

UP Manila

Deep learning with convolutional neural networks to assess rice plant diseases performs very well

As with many Asian countries, rice is a principal food in the Philippines providing nearly half of the daily caloric...

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07 Jul 2025

Nurse-led eHealth cardiac rehabilitation helps patients transition to home life

This research looks at how people with coronary heart disease (CHD) view a nurse-led eHealth cardiac rehabilitation (NeCR) program. The...

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04 Jul 2025

Food safety risk assessment is a practical and effective way to evaluate the safety of locally consumed shellfish

This study gathered information to establish baseline information on the potential risks of the Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) in the...

Read More

01 Jul 2025

Regional unity in ASEAN can grow through shared values like religiosity, humanitarianism and cultural expression

This paper explores how ASEAN identity among Southeast Asia countries can be realized by applying the concepts of “shared cultural...

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13 Jun 2025

UP Los Baños

Large language models offer many opportunities but also pose considerable challenges

With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the availability of data, and the advancement of hardware technologies, applications such...

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10 Jun 2025

UP

A virtual health and physical education program during COVID-19 struggled with low student engagement and ineffective online assessment

The study explored a virtual health and physical education program implemented during COVID-19 school closures. It centered on practices, teacher...

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09 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

There is a weak relationship between 3D mandibular shape and diet in extant primates

This is a study that uses 3D shape analyses to investigate if there is a relationship between mandible shape in...

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09 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

The presumed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers parallel the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies

In the introduction to Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing (2021), the anthology’s editor, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, points to...

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03 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

AI can enhance conceptual understanding and boost self-confidence in mathematics

AI is increasingly integrated into educational settings, offering personalized learning experiences that adapt to individual needs. While AI has the...

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Research

This article explains the factors that affect the productivity and efficiency of the Robusta coffee farms in Sultan Kudarat, Philippines. It aims to assist Robusta coffee farmers in identifying significant production inputs that will increase their farms’ productivity and the important factors that might increase or decrease their technical efficiency. Productivity refers to the output produced by the coffee farms, while efficiency refers to how well these farms convert their inputs into outputs.

The factors that affect productivity are inputs such as land, fertilizer, and the number of trees. Meanwhile, the factors considered to affect technical efficiency include elevation, as well as sociodemographic and climatological factors. Regarding inputs, fertilizer and the number of trees significantly increase the productivity of these farms. In contrast, increasing the land is associated with decreasing productivity.

In terms of technical efficiency, only coffee farming income and elevation were significant factors. Elevation can largely affect the productivity and efficiency of agricultural production. At high elevations, the technical efficiency of Robusta coffee farms decreases. Furthermore, comparing the average technical efficiency across low, medium, and high elevations, coffee farms at medium elevations had the highest average technical efficiency. This poses significant implications for sustainability, particularly the promotion of medium-elevation coffee farming instead of highland coffee farming. High-elevation coffee farming is associated with increased input application, increased erosion risks, and unsustainable land use, as opposed to medium-elevation farming.

Medium-elevation farming may then promote sustainable development while ensuring efficiency and environmental sustainability. The research proposes technical efficiency improvement recommendations, including promoting coffee agroforestry systems and ecolabelling at medium elevations, such as shade-grown coffee, to promote sustainable production in Robusta coffee farms by assigning a premium to consumers demanding environmental conservation.

Authors: Mark James S. Saguimpa (Agri-Aqua Value Chain Laboratory, University of the Philippines Mindanao) and Larry N. Digal (Agri-Aqua Value Chain Laboratory, University of the Philippines Mindanao | School of Management, University of the Philippines Mindanao)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-024-8746-1

Image by Παῦλος from Pixabay