Economic Viability of Rice Establishment Methods Under Precision Land Leveling in Central Luzon, Philippines

Abstract Precision land leveling (PLL) has been promoted as a resource-conserving technology to improve water distribution, input efficiency, and crop productivity in irrigated rice systems. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding its economic viability when combined with different crop establishment methods in smallholder contexts. This study evaluated the profitability of four rice establishment methods—drum seeding, broadcasting, mechanical transplanting, and manual transplanting—under laser land leveling (LLL) and conventional farmer practices across wet and dry seasons in Central Luzon, Philippines. Cost and return analyses were conducted using operating, input, irrigation, and post-harvest expenses, and profitability indicators including net income, return on investment (ROI), break-even price, and break-even yield. Results show that under LLL during the wet season, mechanical transplanting generated the highest net income (PhP 22,726 ha⁻¹) and ROI (55.05%), significantly outperforming other establishment methods. In contrast, several treatments under conventional farmer practice recorded negative returns, particularly in the dry season where high irrigation costs eroded profitability. Economic gains from LLL were most pronounced when complemented by mechanized transplanting, suggesting technology complementarity rather than standalone benefits. Seasonal risk sensitivity analysis indicates that profitability is highly dependent on irrigation cost and yield stability. The findings underscore that precision land leveling enhances economic returns primarily when integrated with mechanized crop establishment, highlighting the importance of bundled mechanization strategies in accelerating smallholder transition toward cost-efficient and resilient rice production systems.