Pathways Towards Sustainable Livelihood Among Banana Farmers: A Multi-Case Study

Abstract

The Philippine banana industry remains an important livelihood source, yet growers face recurring climate, disease, labor, cost, and market pressures that threaten long-term income stability. This qualitative multiple-case study examined the pathways through which three experienced banana farmers in Tagum City sustained their livelihoods despite these pressures. Purposive maximum-variation sampling was used to select one grower each from La Filipina, Cuambogan, and Mankilam whose banana farming was the primary livelihood, whose farms had operated for at least 10 years, and who had continued farming despite adversity. Data were generated through in-depth interviews, direct observation, field notes, and documentation, then analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis and cross-case comparison. Three themes described farm-management pathways: kinship-driven entry into farming, competence through guided practice and partnership, and workflow improvement and leadership transformation. Four themes captured livelihood challenges: recurring crop disease and production vulnerability, price fluctuations, labor-management and human-capital deficits, and systemic and environmental vulnerabilities. Farmers responded through financial discipline and planning, adaptive livelihood strategies, drainage management, and quality-assurance interventions. Cross-case findings showed shared vulnerability but distinct adaptive pathways shaped by farm scale, experience, resource access, contractual support, and financial practices. The findings support the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and Resilience Theory by showing that sustainability emerges through the continuing mobilization of livelihood assets, learning from shocks, resource reorganization, and context-specific adaptation rather than through a single uniform practice.