PhilRice Magazine 2Q 2010

2 APRIL-JUNE 2010, Vol. 23 No. 2®

Volume 23 No. 2April-June 2010

Website: www.philrice.gov.phFarmers’ Text Center: 0920-911-1398

Consulting EditorsCONSTANTE T. BRIONES

ANSELMO A. ROQUE

Managing EditorCHARISMA LOVE B. GADO

ContributorsELMER D. ALOSNOSELLA LOIS T. BESTIL

HANAH HAZEL MAVI M. BIAGCHRISTINA A. FREDILES

CHARISMA LOVE B. GADOMARC ELVIN T. LOZANO

EDUARDO JIMMY P. QUILANGEV A. PARAC

MA. ADRIELLE D. SOLSOLOY

Design and LayoutCARLO G. DACUMOS

IllustrationsCARLITO N. BIBAL

CARLO G. DACUMOS

CirculationAMOR VIRDI G. ACOSTA

Editorial AdvisersRONILO A. BERONIO

KAREN ELOISA T. BARROGAANDREI B. LANUZA

EDUARDO JIMMY P. QUILANG

PhilRice Stations

Central Experiment StationMaligaya, Science City of Muñoz, 3119 Nueva Ecija

Trunklines: (44) 456-0258; -0277, -0285Email: [email protected]

PhilRice AgusanBasilisa, RTRomualdez, 8611 Agusan del Norte

Tel: (85) 818-4477; 343-0778Tel/Fax: 343-0768

Email: [email protected]

PhilRice Batac MMSU Campus, Batac City, 2906 Ilocos Norte

Tel/Fax: (77) 792-2545, -4702 Email: [email protected]

PhilRice IsabelaMalasin, San Mateo, 3318 Isabela

Tel: (78) 664-2954 • Tel/Fax: 664-2953Email: [email protected]

PhilRice Los BañosUPLB Campus, Los Baños, 4030 Laguna

Tel: (49) 536-3631 to 33,Tel/Fax: 536-3515; -0484

Email: [email protected]

PhilRice Midsayap Bual Norte, Midsayap, 9410 North Cotabato

Tel: (64) 229-8178 • Tel/Fax: 229-7242 Email: [email protected]

PhilRice NegrosCansilayan, Murcia, 6129 Negros Occidental

Cell: 0928-506-0515Email: [email protected]

PhilRice Field Office CMU Campus, Maramag, 8714 Bukidnon

Tel/Fax: (88) 222-5744

®

The editors encourage readers to photocopy and circulate articles with proper acknowledg-ment. Everyone is also invited to contribute articles to this magazine (600-800 words plus at least four photos/illustrations with credits). You may likewise suggest topics, or refer individu-als and organizations engaged in rice and rice-based activities whose stories are worth featuring. Please email [email protected] or by mail to:

THE EDITORPhilRice Magazine

Development Communication DivisionPhilippine Rice Research Institute, Maligaya

Science City of Muñoz, 3119 Nueva Ecija

ABOUT THE COVEREl Niño struck again lately, robbing many farmers. In this issue, we feature how rice farmers survived the drought spell and the technologies that help contain El Niño effects. By learning from other farmers’ experiences and knowing the available technolo-gies such as controlled irrigation and tolerant varieties, farmers will be more ready when the phenomenon recurs.

14 Usapang magsasaka

28 Global rice update

28 Fruity recipe

30 New knowledge products

RICE NOTES

4 Agronomy: In search of its own revolution

NEWS

6 National gov’t braces for El Niño; positions agencies for appropriate response

7 New trustees sworn in

7 Outreach program pushes adoption of water-saving technologies

FEATURES

8 A bout with drought

11 Time to mulch

12 When in drought, try ART

16 Climate forecast bulletin

17 ‘Weather’ you like it or not

18 Dr. Josie A. Valdez: He ably proves his worth

20 Irrigation systems: Water for you, save it

22 No-tillage tech: Tried, tested for climate puzzles

24 High yields, high optimism amid limited water

26 Modified Dry Direct Seeding Technique contends with El Niño

CONTENTS

3 APRIL-JUNE 2010, Vol. 23 No. 2 ®

It is ironic that the Philippines, an archipelago virtually encircled by the Pacific Ocean, China Sea, and other bodies of water, occasionally suf-fers from lack of water; irrigation water for rice production in some areas to be exact.

Water, being the most important input in rice production, is one of the factors that determine whether a variety will attain or even approximate its yield potential. One event that contributes to lack of water that reduces rice yields is “El Niño.”

According to experts, El Niño is a climate pat-tern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean, on the average, every five years. It is therefore, widely and significantly, known as “quasi-period-ic.” El Niño is most notorious for its association with droughts and other maladies in many regions of the world, which vary with each event. Develop-ing countries dependent upon agriculture and fish-ing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected ones.

In a study conducted by Mona Liza F. Delos Reyes and Wilfredo P. David (2009), they saw that the effects of El Niño on rice production, from 1970 to 2005, depended on the intensity and time of occurrence of the warm episode. During the dry season, strong, moderate, and weak El Niño episodes depressed total rice production by about 22%, 6%, and 0.2%, respectively.

When one ponders about it, El Niño may be the leading cause of drops in rice production and one of the major hindrances to rice-sufficiency in the Philippines. This then leads us to the question on how all can mitigate the devastating effects of a naturally occurring phenomenon on rice produc-tion.

PhilRice has come up with remedies that can help farmers get through “dry spells.” Two of these are rice varieties that can thrive under drought conditions, and the practice of controlled irrigation (CI).

Planting the right seeds for the right environ-ment is a crucial first step in assuring good har-vests. Rice varieties like NSIC Rc192, which was bred for rainfed lowland drought-prone areas, can

thrive under low-water conditions. This variety can average 3.7 t/ha.

Meanwhile, farmers in irrigated rice fields can do their part in ensuring the frugal use of water by practicing alternate wetting and drying, also known as CI. It was developed as a water-saving technique to help farmers identify when water is actually needed. This avoids water wastage as rice fields need not be flooded all the time. Through this practice, farmers located at the tail-end can also benefit from irrigation services.

Likewise, traditional techniques such as mulching are being looked into as a possible method for conserving soil moisture. Some farm-ers, simply by covering the soil with rice straw and other materials, can impede the rapid evapo-ration of water and also prevent soil erosion.

Preventing droughts and other natural phe-nomena, which greatly affect rice production, is something that is out of our control (and yes, doing a raindance would not work), but hopefully, the technologies promoted, and are still being developed by PhilRice and other agencies and institutes can rescue farmers through these dry and trying times.

EDITORIAL

A ‘heated’ discussion on rice production


operationalized in the Location- Specific Technology Development (LSTD) program using PalayCheck as framework for crop management. The program has mobilized and de-ployed the brightest young agri-culture graduates after training them for four months in the sci-entific practice of rice farming. Called RSOs or Rice-Sufficiency Officers, their task is “to build good relationships with farmers so they can better enrich their knowledge and customize technolo-gies.”

Knowledge powerAGRONOMY embodied in the new

vocabulary has continuously evolved over the past 40 years or so. The challenges are revo-

in search of its own revolutionAgronomy:Being neither a plant breeder nor an agronomist, I speak in this forum as an observer of the changing rice production system and its implications over the past 4 decades. To be honest, let me state at the outset, that plant breeders remain my favor-ite scientists. Nothing personal! It is strictly a matter of seeds. Plant breeders create seeds of hope which agronomists nurture so these seeds can fulfill their promise.

A reading of IRRI’s history and a revisit of the book: Changes in Rice Farming in Selected Areas of Asia, published in 1975, revealed only two mentions of the word AGRONOMY. The first mention was that in 1987, S.K. de Datta, Head of IRRI’s AGRONOMY Department, received the First International Soil Science Award. The second mention was in connection with the 1985 research cooperation be-tween IRRI and Nepal.

Other namesAs far as message and language

of communication are concerned, the word AGRONOMY seems to have gone out-of-style except that the concept and practice have evolved into something else known by other names such as IPM, SSNM; INRM; Nutrient-management; wa-ter management; integrated weed management; controlled irriga-tion; AWD; land leveling; crop establishment; seed health; seed-ling management; reduced seeding rate; good agricultural practice (GAP); precision farming; lately ecological engineering; and at PhilRice, the most recent slogan is: SITE MATTERS. This slogan is


lutionary in the sense that the new ways of caring for the rice plant have become more KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE rather than labor and input-intensive. In a manner of speaking, KNOWLEDGE, distilled from a great deal of science “substitutes” for, and makes more effective, the use of seeds, fertilizer, water, pesticides, etc. In the past, the new seeds and accompanying technologies were promoted and adopted but the science was left behind. Hence fertilizer was calculated as so many bags per hectare, pesticides were sprayed every so many days; and rice paddies were kept flooded etc. Farmers lost sleep when they did not spray; did not keep the rice field flooded; did not have

RICE NOTES

Dr. Gelia T. Castillo(PhilRice trustee since 1986)


enough money for fertilizer; and used less than 120 kg seeds per hectare, etc. Now, farmers who learned IPM; SSNM; AWD; CI, land leveling and the right variety for the right ecosystem during the right season, say they sleep better when they practiced what they learned. “Very few stages of rice growth require standing water” is the message from the scientists.

The challenge to agronomy and to whatever else it is called is incorporated in this statement from IRRI’s Roland Buresh: “Sci-entists must increasingly develop management practices to ensure continued sustainability as ir-rigation water becomes limited.” Incidentally, how do you explain

in search of its own revolution

why hybrid rice which has high yield potential has only been adopted in 6.2 percent of irri-gated areas in Asia except China which has 70.4 percent adoption? Is this plant breeding or is it agronomy?

Frequent visitsBut an even greater challenge

is how to bring evidence-based management practices to farmers in a knowledge-enhancing man-ner which would enable them to transcend from “prescription to decision.” Rice farmers are constantly faced with nutrient, water, pest, etc problems alto-gether but the science comes to them independently of each other. One element which appears to be

required for good crop management but is rarely communicated is the need for frequent monitoring of rice fields in order to quickly identify any emerging problems. Research during the early days has shown that high-producers visit their fields oftener than others in the same area. As far as research agenda is concerned, studies on constraints to rice production, adoption, and impact used to have a strong presence. Do we need to put them back where they used to be?

In rice culture, TIME, TIM-ING, and TIMELINESS lie at the heart of crop management whether it refers to maturity length of rice variety; time to plant; time to weed; time to harvest; time to water, etc. This TIME dimen-sion acquires more salience as the demand for “climate-proofing” technologies increases. Further-more, by the very nature of crop management, many of the effec-tive means to deal with problems require social learning and col-lective action as in synchronous planting, water management etc. this is one of the most difficult actions to “pull off” and so is the coming together of scientists so their message about good agri-cultural practices can be inte-grated for the farmers’ sake.

Seeing not enough“Seeing is believing” may be

trite but it still works. How-ever, it is not enough. We need to add, DOING; USING; KNOWING; UNDERSTANDING; and ADAPTING is believing. All these actions are important so farmers can actually experience not only the technol-ogy’s performance but also why it works. Not everything in the sci-ence of rice production is easily and readily observed. Some of it will become evident only over-time, hence an understanding of what is not immediately visible is also required.

So, who says that an AGRO-NOMIC REVOLUTION has not taken place or is not possible? (Com-ments prepared for the Science Forum, “Will there be an agro-nomic revolution in the intensive lowlands?” during the IRRI-Alumni Week, April 20-23, 2010, IRRI, Los Baños, Laguna).

Agronomy:



The Department of Agriculture (DA) heads the “Task Force El Niño” mandated to provide assistance to farmers who are

hugely affected by the phenomenon. The dry spell is feared to last until July, even as it has already af-fected some 772.538 ha nationwide of palay, corn, and other crops with an estimated aggregate total value of P11 billion, the DA said.

The DA has reallocated finances from various government agencies to fund the activities in re-sponse to the El Niño phenomenon.

Some of the priority activities are cloud-seeding in major watershed areas and setting up of shallow tube wells and pump irrigation systems in open-source, said Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla.

Along with other water-related measures, the department is distribut-ing water pumps worth and establish-ing shallow tube wells all worth P420 million.

Earlier reports noted the decreasing water levels in some of the country’s major water reservoirs. While it is true that there is still sufficient water to irrigate farms, anticipatory measures such as cloud-seeding and provision of irrigation facilities are directed to be put in place.

In Nueva Ecija, farmers have re-mained calm despite news of El Niño as there is decidedly an abundance of irrigation water from the Pantabangan Dam. Abundance in the dam’s reser-voir was brought about by augmenta-tion provided by the Casecnan Multi-Purpose Irrigation and Power Project and effective water management by the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS).

UPRIIS had added 16,879 ha to its usual service area due to the aug-mented water in the dam’s reservoir.

NEWS

The new areas are in Muñoz, parts of Talugtug, and Guimba, Nueva Ecija, and some parts of Victoria in Tarlac.

Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also called for nationwide water conserva-tion measures so that farmers will have enough water for their production efforts.

Meanwhile, aside from direct agriculture interventions, the national government also said farmers greatly affected by the drought can be em-ployed in constructing irrigation facili-ties and farm-to-market roads. They may also enrol in skills development training under the Technology Educa-tion and Skills Development Authority free of charge.

Additionally, Pres. Arroyo ordered a moratorium on the payment of 150 kg

of rice irrigation service fee as the El Niño phenomenon persists. The Land Bank and other government financial institutions were also ordered to im-pose moratorium on the payment of penalties on their farmer-clients’ outstanding debts.

Weather officials said Benguet, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Batangas, Iloilo, Antique, Guimaras, Capiz, Negros Occidental, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino are considered drought-stricken provinces.

In the 1998 El Niño episode, 1.8 million metric tons in rice pro-duction valued at P12M were lost. That loss in production prompted the country to import more rice that year.

National gov’t braces for El Niño;positions agencies for appropriate response

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Despite the prolonged dry spell, the Pantabangan Dam reservoir provides enough water supply to Nueva Ecija rice lands.


Intensified promotion and adoption of alternate wetting and drying, and other water-saving technolo-gies are being carried out in target

areas this year. This was agreed upon in the annual

review and planning meeting of the implementing agencies of the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium Country Outreach Program (ICOP) in the Philip-pines held in February.

Led by PhilRice, ICOP is a collab-orative project that aims to promote promising integrated rice technologies to farmers in various countries. The other member-agencies are the Nation-

Outreach program pushes for adoption of water-saving technologies

al Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Bohol Agricultural Promotion Center, and IRRI.

The water work group of the Philippine ICOP aims to reduce water use and improve water-use efficiency through the promotion of controlled irrigation.

NIA conducts series of seminar-workshops for its adoption at the com-munity level.

Research studies show that water-saving technologies can reduce water use by 15% to 35% without signifi-cantly reducing yield.

The promotion activities are in

response to the problems brought by the dry spell being experienced in the country and the effects of cli-mate change. The move also forms part of the implementers’ efforts to realign the goals of the program with the Philippine Rice Self-Sufficiency program.

Other components of the Philip-pine ICOP include adaptive research on management of weedy rice, site-specific nutrient management, pest management, and postharvest technologies. The project’s target areas are in Regions I, III, IV, and VI. (By Ev A. Parac)

New trustees sworn in

Atty. Bernie G. Fondevilla, acting secretary of the De-partment of Agriculture, had sworn in to office four new

members of the PhilRice Board of Trustees, April 12.

Appointed by Pres. Gloria Maca-pagal-Arroyo on March 5, the new members are: Jose S. Concepcion Jr, representing the business com-munity; Flaviana “Vivian” M. Del Rosario, consumer sector; Pacifico M. Fajardo, community develop-ment group; and Dr. Leonardo A. Gonzales, research and development community.

With the Secretary of Agriculture

as ex-officio chairperson, the Board of Trustees is the highest policy and decision-making body of the Institute.

Concepcion, an industrialist and businessman, received The Outstand-ing Filipino (TOFIL) award for Social Advocacy in 2007. He founded the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) together with Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich and is one of the founding members of the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

On the other hand, Fajardo was representative of the third district of Nueva Ecija in 1992-2001 and mayor of Palayan City in 1988-1992.

Meanwhile, Del Rosario is an

entrepreneur known in the food business.

Currently one of the Institute’s consultants, Gonzales is also the president of STRIVE Foundation – an organization that provides technical and financial support to graduate and undergraduate scholars engaged in development research.

To date, twelve distinguished men have chaired the Board, and 13 respected women and 40 men have either served or are serving as board members. Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, renowned rural sociolo-gist and national scientist, holds the exclusive distinction of having continuously served as trustee since the inception of PhilRice in 1986. (By Charisma Love B. Gado)


A bout with drought

The phenomenon occurs as the wind blows strongly from east to west along the equator in the Pacific.

“This wind activity piles up water, about half a meter’s worth, in the western part of the Pacific while in the eastern part, deeper water, which is colder than the sun-warmed surface water, gets pulled up from below to replace the water pushed west. With this, the water becomes warm, about 30oC in the west, and cold, about 22o C, in the east,” he explained.

Materials gathered from the Internet show that El Niño occurs irregularly every two to seven years. A severe onslaught of El Niño can last a year or more.

Fighting for the cropGambalan recalled the strike of El

Niño in their locality in 2005, which lasted for three months. But this year, she said, the drought is already on its sixth month and had taken a heavy toll on her crop.

“It was so heartbreak-ing to see that the plants, which are already produc-ing tillers, are facing immi-nent death. They were like humans begging for water. I felt the strong urge to save them,” she said.

For her rice plants to survive, she sold their cattle worth P25,000 to finance the fuel and oil to run the pump to irrigate the crop. She thought it better to part with her cattle rather

As barangay councilor Julie Gambalan of Aga, Delfin Al-bano, Isabela walked through her rice field, her brown and

almost sunburned feet repeatedly landed on cracked soil. She did not sustain an injury, but the strap of her slippers was snapped.

“In my 30 years of farming, our field has never been this dry,” Gam-balan said.

Her hands, callused by hard work, and her spirit a little bit broken, Gambalan is among farmers affected by El Niño or warmer-than-usual phenomenon in Isabela.

“My hands were not as affected as they are now. With the long dry spell, which started around Octo-ber 2009, my hands were battered while watering our rice plants and rice-based crop almost day and night and by manually harvesting them,” she narrated.

El NiñoEl Niño, according to experts, is

a “temporary change in the climate of the Pacific Ocean, in the region around the equator.”

El Niño, which refers to Child Jesus, was the name originally given by fishermen in Peru because of its warm current annually occurring during Christmas time.

According to David W. Pierce of the Scripps Institution of Oceanogra-phy based at University of California, San Diego, the ocean surface warms up by a few degrees celsius during this temporary change. Simultane-ously, hefty thunderstorms occurring on the equator move eastward.


Charisma Love B. Gado


than see her crop gradually die. Unlike other farmers, Gambalan is

quite lucky as her 2.5-ha field is just 200 m away from the water source. She only spent P1,000 a week for irrigation while other farmers, whose water source is far from their rice lands, spent P7,000.

“I had sleepless nights. The expens-es were too much and were adding up to the weekly allowance of P1,000 for my college student in Manila,” she confided.

Unfortunately, despite her efforts and expenses, she only harvested 8 cavans (0.4 t/ha) in their 1.3-ha farm. The harvest she got, she said, was enough only to recover her expenses on seedling pulling and transplanting.

The remaining 1.2 ha area, which is yet to be harvested, does not show a ray of hope for a high yield. She said that before the onslaught of El Niño, she used to harvest 150 cavans (7.5 t/ha).

“We estimate to harvest only about 10 cavans (0.5 t/ha) from our remain-ing area,” she said.

CopingTo compensate for the low harvest

from their rice field, Gambalan planted vegetables such as eggplant, string beans, and pepper in the parched land where her rice crop withered and died.

“I planted these vegetables because they need less water to grow and de-

velop. This is now my third attempt at planting eggplants as the two previous batches died. I used to water them in the morning and noon, but they died. For this batch, I water them at night, at around 10pm,” she said.

The vegetables, she said, use at least part of the barren land and en-able the family to have some food on the table.

“Previous dry spells re-duced our yield by 50 per-cent. Now, the reduction is 80 percent. With this crisis now, having vegetables in the backyard can help a lot as we have something to eat,” she said.

Postproduction painsGambalan used to hire 25-30

workers to harvest their 2.5-ha farm. This harvest time, only four of her fam-ily members are needed to finish the job in their farm.

“We are saving whatever we can, even labor. Instead of hiring laborers, we harvest and thresh the crop by ourselves,” she said.

In threshing, Gambalan and her family members used their bare feet. They spread the harvested panicles on a mat and trample with their feet.

“It is painful,” she said. “My feet

ached from the heat coming out from the ground and from the coarseness of the grain.”

However, in spite of the pains, Gambalan is hopeful that the coming cropping season will compensate for whatever losses they had suffered.

Giving upNot all farmers went on tending

their crop like what Gambalan did. Other tillers gave up as they cal-culated that their expected harvest would not be enough to pay for the debt they would incur if they contin-ued caring for the crop. They esti-mated the efforts would cost at least P25,000 a hectare.

Rolan Cahalni, also from Brgy. Aga, said he stopped taking care of his plants when the field got dried up a few weeks after transplanting them.

“We heard last November that there would be a dry spell. But I thought my farm would not be af-fected because the Danao creek, our main source of water, never dries up. I was wrong. The dry spell this year is severe,” he said.

Cahalni, a farmer for 20 years and used to harvest 150 cavans (7.5 t/ha) a hectare, said that the farmers in their area planted rice on the heels of announcements that El Niño will be experienced. He said that they hoped that rains would come by January or February. They never fell.

This waterless fishpond, an important component of diversified farming, is now an idle land for four months as it dried up owing to the prolonged dry spell.

The high cost of irrigation forced some farm-ers to give up on their rice plants few weeks after transplanting.



“We had no choice but to give up on the crop af-ter planting it last Decem-ber because saving them through rigorous irrigation would cost us more money. The crop didn’t grow and remained stunted at only 7 inches,” Cahalni said.

To support his crop planted in 2 ha, Cahalni estimated that he would spend more than P7,000 every week for fuel and oil.

“Our farm is far from the water source so we would be spending a lot. We didn’t want to add some more to the P10,000 invested before the dry spell totally hit our farm. We don’t want to gamble anymore for our stand-ing crop as we sensed that we will be losing much,” he said.

Saving the crop

Patricio Castillo Jr. of Brgy. San Joaquin, Balungao, Pangasinan said the farmers must be wary about El Niño owing to its damaging effects.

“Now that I take farming as a busi-ness, I can feel the devastating effects of El Niño. My farm is diversified. Other than rice, I cultivate vegetables and raise fish. I have more responsi-bilities to take care of,” he said.

In contending with the effects of El Niño, Castillo, a farmer since his child-hood, opined that the phenomenon may bring out the best in a farmer during its onslaught. In his case, he learned to properly manage his water source to provide crops their water requirements.

“Previously, I just let the water drawn by my generator flow freely through my fields. Now, I installed an appropriate hose for the water to easily reach targeted crops,” he shared.

In the past, he said, irrigating his 4-ha farm took three days. With his improved practice now, he rrigates the entire farm within a day.

According to Castillo, warnings on the onslaught of El Niño came late as many farmers in their barangay already planted rice and vegetables in Novem-ber.

On the other hand, Rolando Varila of Brgy. Rajal, Balungao said the drought made some farmers resort to

unscrupulous ways to survive. He nar-rated that his fellow farmers stole the fuel from his generator when he left his field to take his dinner. To prevent the repeat of the incident, he said he built a nipa hut on his farm where he stayed at night to guard his property.

Farming for 30 years, Varila said the 2009 wet season and 2010 dry season croppings were his most dif-ficult farming years. Before the dry spell, his farm was hit by typhoon Pepeng, which subsequently flooded his entire 1.2 ha. As a result, no in-come lined-up his pocket.

He thought the typhoon was a blessing in disguise because it sup-plied their source of water enough for the next cropping season. Sadly, the water was inadequate. He invested P15,000 when the dry spell damaged his crop.

Owing to the weather disturbances, Varila resolved to adjust his planting time to avoid the typhoon and the dry spell. His harvest of 27 cavans (1.35 t/ha) from his usual harvest of 130 cavans from (6.5 t/ha) a hectare was reason enough for him to make adjust-ments in his planting calendar..

Meanwhile, Marlon Parlan, 39, of Brgy. Rajal, made a crucial decision on what to do when he saw that his crop was being persecuted by the drought. He allowed and tended the crop on the heading stage to continue on develop-ing and let the crop, which was on the

panicle initiation stage, die its natural death.

“Water was scarce so I decided which among my crops would be al-lowed to continue developing. With the high cost of irrigation, I can’t sustain them all. From the crops I saved, I harvested 9 cavans (0.45 t/ha) in a hectare farm. I normally harvest 96 cavans (4.8 t/ha),” he said.

With that small harvest, Parlan said he was not able to buy the young pig he intended to invest in for this year’s wet season. The piglet was sup-posed to be his “bank” for the capital he would need for the next cropping season.

“The farmers, indeed, became pitiful due to the prolonged dry spell,” Lilibeth Ilar of Brgy. Aga said.

However, Castillo took a different stance as he viewed the effects of the calamity. “Farmers should keep their faith in farming. They should not stop when faced with adversities as next time around it may be a different thing,” he said.

Castillo is not one to readily give up owing to his dreams. He said:

“As long as farmers like me know how to stand even from nothing, good weather will be smiling at us some-day.”

Being optimistic, Patricio Castillo Jr. of Balungao, Pangasinan believes that his land will soon bring back the bountiful harvest he used to have before the onslaught of El Niño.



Do you want your crops to survive the ill effects of “sum-mer and rainy days?” Mulch-ing can save your crops from

the plants’ stressful days, a vegetable farmer in Talavera, Nueva Ecija said.

Mulch is a loose covering or sheet of materials spread on top of the soil. Mulch can be in the form of rice straws or hay, grasses, and plastic sheets. It can be used as vegetable beds for cucumbers, melons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

Laying of mulch over the soil surface or simply mulching, conserves soil moisture and moderates soil temperature. Mulching also protects the soil against erosion, reduces the need for frequent watering, prevents weed growth, and reduces compaction from heavy rains, according to PhilRice experts.

For Francis Vecencio, 29, of Tala-vera town, he found the use of plastic sheets as mulch is ideal. He has been doing it for more than 10 years.

His parents had been practicing mulching and it was from them which made him adopt the technology.

He owns a 3-ha farm wherein he usually practices intercropping. His crops include onions, bottle gourd, tomatoes, bitter gourd, and green pep-per.

Although the use of plastic mulch costs him P10,000 per hectare, this amount is easily offset by his high income. From single cropping which lasts for more than five months, he earns P600,000 in a hectare from ampalaya production alone.

Based on his experience, mulch-ing during the dry season conserves moisture, and more water is stored and slowly released by the soil, thus increasing water retention. Loss of water from the soil due to evaporation is minimized.

Vecencio said mulched areas re-quire less frequent watering that’s why he usually waters his crops only once a week.

He also observed that mulching inhibits the rapid growth of weeds and prevents the exposure of the seeds of weeds to sunlight which usually serves as the primary trigger for growing.

“The mulch is like a rain coat and comforter as it breaks up the force of raindrops preventing soil erosion, and moderates internal soil temperatures during the rainy season,” Vecencio said with a smile.

A few years back, he tried not to use mulch to cut his production ex-penses. He, however, got disappointed as his yield became low.

Vecencio still explores different techniques to improve his yield. He tried earlier using rice straw in his green pepper for nutrient management. He found out that his production cost was lessened. However, he said, it is laborious as collecting and spreading the straws are done repeatedly.

Lastly, Vecencio explained that plants are like your children wherein you have to continuously create an atmosphere conducive for their growth and development. “Practice mulching and you’ll never regret doing it,” he said.

Time to mulch


For Francis Vecencio, mulching paid off as he still harvests ampalaya in his 2-ha farm for almost seven months.

Hanah Hazel Mavi M. Biag


When in drought,try ART

practice which takes 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of palay.

According to Engr. Junel B. So-riano, director of Research, Extension, Training, and Production of the Bula-can Agricultural State College, aerobic rice grows well in nonflooded and nonpuddled soils using supplementary irrigation. It can be grown like maize crop or wheat, he added.

The International Rice Research Institute introduced ART in 2001 in collaboration with DA-PhilRice and NIA.

Choosing the right varietyDrought-tolerant varieties such as

NSIC Rc192 (Sahod Ulan1), and NSIC Rc9 (Apo) can be used. These varieties were bred by IRRI.

Thelma Padolina, head of PhilRice Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Divi-sion, said these varieties can withstand drought and avoid the rolling leaf, thick cuticle, and deep root problems in rice growing. She also said these va-rieties have the capability to withstand tension in their cells under reduced soil water, giving them rigidity and keeping them erect. These varieties can also recover quickly when the stress period ends.

Approved in 2009, NSIC Rc192, is bred for rainfed lowland drought-prone ar-eas. It has an average yield of 3.7t/ha (72cav) with a maturity of 106 days and height of 109cm. It is resis-tant to yellow stem borers but susceptible to bacterial leaf blight and tungro.

Bred for upland areas, NSIC Rc9 yields 2.9t/ha (58cav). It matures in 119 days with a height of 98cm. It has resistance to stemborer but susceptible to brown plant hopper and tungro. NSIC Rc9 was approved as a variety in 2001.

A promising new cropping system, called Aerobic Rice Technology (ART), is seen to be effective in rice production even when there is water

crisis or El Niño phenomenon. ART is one way of growing rice that

needs less water compared to the traditional


Christina A. Frediles


Managing ARTBefore sowing 100-120 kg of

seeds for a hectare, the field should be well-prepared, which is done by plowing and harrowing. The seeds are directly sown in the furrow at 2-3 cm deep with 25-35 cm furrow space. Irrigation after seeding is suggested if the soil is dry to enhance seed germination.

After the first irrigation, spray pre-emergence herbicide. Meanwhile,

spray post-emergence herbicide at 20-25 days after emergence (DAE), Soriano explained.

At flowering stage, flood irrigation is done at 5-7 cm water depth. “A farmer-cooperator in Bulacan irrigates only once a week or three times a month at 2-5 cm depth depending on the needs of the crop,” Soriano said.

In the wet season, as in the case of weather conditions in Region 3, irriga-tion, he added, is no longer a big chal-

lenge as this rice can grow normally even if there is no rainfall within two weeks.

Rice crops, cultivated through ART, need less labor and farm inputs, thus production cost is lesser. As seed distance is farther apart, hand weeding is easier. “I only recommend 4 bags complete fertilizer for a hectare at 10-15 DAE,” Soriano said.

For early and late-maturing variet-ies, Soriano recommends the applica-tion of 3 bags of ammonium sulfate or 1.5 bag urea/ha. For the former, fertilizer application is at 25-30 and for the latter, at 30-35 DAE.

ART-cultivated crops are more tolerant to weeds and pests compared with other rice varieties, Soriano said.

“Our farmer-cooperator in Isabela obtained yield of 6t/ha instead of his usual harvest of 4-5 t/ha,” Soriano said. “He could have yielded 7t/ha if he only religiously followed the ART. He applied too much fertilizer which made his plants grow taller and lodge,” Soriano added.

On the other hand, Nemencio Con-cepcion, 49, of Mataas na Parang, San Ildefonso Bulacan, a farmer-cooperator of ART, harvested 7t/ha instead of his usual harvest of 6t/ha. He followed the recommendations in this technology.


...we can actually create building materials out of rice parts with the application of biotechnology ?

Architect Geronimo M. Manahan, Ph.D., sparked interest and curiosity from a crowd of construction technology architects and engineers recently at a forum on the future trends of environmentally sound building technology and materials when he said this was possible. He added that rice straws, which are resistant to fire, vermin, and rotting could even be developed.

Using solar energy in the production of such materials, he said, would even make the materials become environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient.

Rice Hull Ash (RHA) is said to significantly improve the durability of concrete and substantially replace silica fume as an additive, at lower cost. Past efforts have been made to incorporate RHA with brick elements for housing with success. (http://www.inquirer.net/globalnation/sec_prf/2003/jul/02-04.htm)

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Pagtugon sa pabagu-bagong panahon…

Hindi na maikakaila na ang pabagu-bagong pana-hon ay nandito na. Ang pagtaas ng temperatura ay isa sa mga hudyat ng pagbabago ng panahon na nagduru-lot ng sobrang init ng kapaligiran.

Sa isang pag-aaral at ilang eksperimentong isina-gawa, lumilitaw na sa bawat taas ng temperatura ng 1oC inaasahang bumaba ang ani ng 10 hanggang 15 porsyento. Ang sobrang init ay nakasasama sa palay. Nakakaltasan ang bilang ng suwi, taas ng palay, bilang ng butil, at laman ng butil.

Ano ba ang ginagawa at payo ng PhilRice upang matugunan ang isyung ito?

Nagdedebelop ng mga barayti na matibay sa baha, init, at maalat na lupa. – Ilan lamang dito ang NSIC Rc194 o mas kilala sa tawag na Sub-marino 1 para sa bahaing lugar, NSIC Rc192 para sa tagtuyot, at NSIC Rc182, 184, 186, 188, 190 para sa maalat na lupa.

Paggamit ng Controlled Irrigation o teknolohiyang CI. – Sa CI, maaaring bumaba ng 16 hanggang 35 porsyento ang paggamit ng tubig sa palayan na hindi mababawasan ang ani. Ang pagsa-sagawa ng CI ay nakababawas din sa gastusin, at na-kaiiwas sa pagsingaw ng gas na methane na kabilang sa mga bagay na nagpapainit sa mundo.

USAPANG MAGSASAKA

Pilasin ang pahinang ito at gawing gabay sa pagsasaka!

MA. ADRIELLE D. SOLSOLOY

Paggamit ng makabagong teknolohiya tulad ng geographic information system o GIS at ICT. – Sa pamamagitan ng GIS, mas mapabibilis ang pagtukoy sa mga lugar na naaapektuhan ng pagbabago ng panahon. Gayundin, sa tulong ng ICT, makararating ang impormasyong kailangan nang mas mabilis kaysa sa lumang paraan.

Isagawa ang Palayamanan. – Isa itong paky-awang pamamaraan sa pamamahala ng palay, gulay, hayop, at iba pang pagkain at pagkakakitaan sa bukid. Sa pamamagitan nito, nababawasan ang paggamit ng kemikal na kadalasan ay mitsa sa pagbabago ng pana-hon. Ang pagtatanim ng punong kahoy, prutas, at gulay ay ilan lamang sa mga simpleng paraan upang maba-wasan ang karbon sa kapaligiran.

Paggamit ng mga alternatibong pamama-raan upang mabawasan ang pagtagas ng methane sa himpapawid. – Isang pag-aaral mula sa PhilRice at IRRI ang nagrerekomenda sa paggamit ng ammonium sulfate bilang pataba kapalit ng urea; paghalo ng phosphogypsum sa urea; pagpapatuyo ng lupa sa tinatawag na midseason; at pagsasabog-tanim sa halip na lipat-tanim.

Ang programang Location-Specific Technol-ogy Development o LSTD. – Nakatuon ang LSTD sa pagdebelop at pagtukoy ng mga teknolohiyang angkop sa isang lokalidad. Sa programang ito, mas mapapadaling masolusyunan ang problema sa pagbabago ng panahon kung may teknolohiyang nakalaan sa partikular na lugar.

Illustration: CGDacumos



Halaga ng tubigsa pagsasaka!

Kaliwa’t kanan ang isyu ngayon sa tinatawag na El Niño phenomenon o ang tagtuyot. Ang pagkaubos ng tubig ay sadyang nararamdaman na sa Ilocos, Isabela, Cagayan, Pangasinan, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Palawan, Zambo-anga, at South Cotabato.

Ano nga ba ang naidudulot ng kakulangan ng tubig sa produksiyon ng palay?

Bago magtanim (preplanting operation)• Paghahanda ng lupa (Land preparation) – Ang tubig

ang pinakamahalagang elemento upang makapagsimula ng taniman; hindi mapalalambot ang lupa kung walang tubig.

• Pagpapatag ng lupa (Leveling) – Kung kulang sa tubig, hindi makakamit ang key check 2 na nagsasabing kai-langan ng 2-3 sentimetrong tubig upang mapatag nang tama ang lupa; at wala ring gabay ang magsasaka kung pantay na nga ba ang lupa o hindi pa.

• Paglilipat-tanim (Transplanting) – Kung kulang o walang tubig, hindi mapananatili ang lambot ng lupa kung saan mas madali ang pagtatanim.

Paglaki ng palay (crop growing)• Maagang paglago ng palay (Early vegetative stage)

– tutubo at lalago ang mga damo kung walang tubig sa panahong ito; tubig ang pinakamurang paraan ng pagkontrol ng damo.

• Pagsusuwi (Tillering) – kapag wala o kulang sa tubig, hindi magsusuwi ang palay; kapag sobra naman sa tubig, maaaring kaunti lang ang suwi.

• Pagpapataba (Fertilizer application) – maraming masasayang na pataba kapag hindi tama ang tubig ng pinitak. Ang alin mang patabang hindi magagamit ng halaman ay magiging greenhouse gas na siyang nagpa-painit ng mundo o sanhi ng water pollution na nakasi-sira sa kapaligiran.

• Paglilihi ng palay (Panicle initiation) – kapag kinapos ng tubig, hindi maaabot ang potensiyal na dami ng butil sa bawat uhay.

• Pamumulaklak (Flowering) – kapag kinapos ng tubig, dadami ang walang laman na butil o tulyapis.

• Paglalaman ng butil (Grain filling) – kapag kinapos ng tubig, bababa ang grain weight ng palay; magaan ang mga butil dahil hindi ito magiging mapintog.

Pag-ani at pagkatapos umani (harvest and postharvest)• Sa panahong ito, mas maganda kung tuyo ang palayan.

Walang masyadong epekto ang kakulangan sa tubig kapag hinog na ang mga butil ng palay. Ang labis na tubig ay nakababalam sa mga gawain sa bukid sa pana-hong ito.

SOURCE: JOVINO DE DIOS, PhilRice

APRIL-JUNE 2010, Vol. 23 No. 2 ® 15


This Climate Forecast was derived from PAGASA and other online sources. It may vary and will be up-dated depending on the current weather situation.

Last March, weather systems like the prevalence of the ridge of high pressure area (HPA) brought surface air temperatures above normal over the country. For exam-ple, at PhilRice Central Experiment Station, the normal average maximum temperature during March is 31.73°C compared to this year’s 32.29°C. Dry spell continued in the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Kalinga, Ifugao, Apayao, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Rizal, Antique, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental, including the provinces of Lanao and Misamis Occidental.

The El Niño that started in June 2009 in the equato-rial Pacific still prevails. Impacts are still manifested over affected areas in Luzon and Visayas, as dry spell condi-tions continue resulting still to low water levels in major dams in the country.

Weather systems that will affect the country from April to June are the transition from northeast monsoon “Amihan” to southwest monsoon “Habagat”, Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), easterly wave, tropical cyclone, and ridge of HPA. Seasonal rainfall forecast will likely be below normal over most parts of the country during May to June with some areas that may have near normal rainfall condition.

In May, below normal rainfall condition will be expected over northern Luzon, whereas, near to above normal over Central and Southern Luzon. Below normal rainfall over most areas of Visayas while in Mindanao, below to near normal condition. In June, generally below normal rainfall condition is expected over most parts of the country with some patches of near normal rainfall that may be received in some cases.

For July to September, most parts of the country will likely have near normal rainfall conditions with some areas that may still receive below normal condition.

Warmer surface air temperatures are expected in most parts of the country as El Nino event continues especially during the peak of the “summer” (drier) months. Two or three tropical cyclones (TC) are expected to form or enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) for April-June season and about ten (10) tropical cyclones during the July-September season. Probable onset of the rainy season associated with the southwest monsoon will be 2nd half of May to 1st half of June where farmers can start sowing and land preparation (Source: 40th National Climate Outlook Forum, PAGASA, Quezon City).

Processed image from NASA Terra Satellite acquired on April 22, 2010 shows the dry condition affecting Philippines.


CLIMATE FORECAST BULLETIN

A possibility of La Niña condition may also follow after El Niño episode. We advise that farmers be kept updated of weather forecasts.

Tips: For rainfed areas, recommended varieties are the following:

• Transplanted: PSB Rc 12, Rc 14, Rc 36, Rc 38, Rc 40, Rc 98, Rc 100

• Direct-Seeded: PSB Rc 16, Rc 24, Rc 42, Rc 60, Rc 62, Rc 68, Rc 70

For more information, contact:PhilRice Agromet NetworkPhilippine Rice Research InstituteMaligaya, Science City of Munoz, Nueva EcijaTel: (044)-456-0285 loc 212Email: [email protected] [email protected]’ Txt Center: 0920-911-1398

Dr. Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang and Elmer D. Alosnos


you like it or notEv A. Parac

dental, Agusan del Norte , and North Cotabato. It also subscribes to and integrates relevant climatic data from other local and international research agencies. Archive of reports from Phi-lAgromet stations and external sources can be accessed at the PhilRice online database system (http://dbmp.philrice.gov.ph).

“Reliable climate information are important in making strategies that can help rice farmers effectively cope with the bad effects of frequent changes in weather and extreme climate events,” Engr. Elmer Alosnos, science research specialist and member of the PhilRice Agromet Network team, said.

Reliable weather and climate fore-casts are imparted to farmers through bulletins. These bulletins inform farmers of weather problems, such as heavy or no rainfall, strong winds, high temperatures, and typhoons, and the areas affected. Bulletins also include farm advisories on what to do to prepare for and cope with the weather problems.

“If farmers learn to prop-erly use weather informa-tion, they can increase their farm income as well as reduce or prevent farm losses when the weather is bad for rice production” Alosnos said.

In the first bulletin sample devel-oped by PhilRice Agromet Network in early November 2009, for ex-ample, farmers were warned of a dry spell related to the moderate El Niño phenomenon which was projected to peak in December 2009 to February 2010. In the forecast, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Pan-gasinan, Zambales, Cavite, Mindoro Provinces, Romblon, Palawan, and Panay Island were predicted to ex-perience way below normal rainfall. Areas in these provinces that have poor irrigation systems and are rain-falldependent bore the worst effects of the dry spell.

Keep tunedWith such information known

ahead, farmers and other rice stake-holders were advised to develop measures to lessen the negative effects of the drought.

Everyone was also advised to use water-saving technologies such as controlled irrigation to conserve wa-ter. Another farm recommendation issued was the use of early-maturing and/or drought-tolerant rice varieties.

More importantly, the PhilRice Agromet Network team askedfarm-ers and other decision-makers to always stay tuned to the PAGASA’s weather forecasts, El Niño advi-sories, and dam status reports especially during severe weather or climate conditions.

Of the many factors affecting productivity in rice produc-tion, weather, perhaps, is the most difficult to address.

It changes very often and is beyond control which makes it a significant threat to farmers looking forward to a bountiful harvest.

In general, weather refers to the day-to-day conditions of the atmo-sphere at a particular place and time. It is affected by agrometeorological fac-tors or climate elements such as high or low temperature, humidity, rain, sunshine, clouds, and wind, among others.

To a wise farmer, weather data are very important in making everyday decisions in the farm. When and how much rain will fall on a certain day, for example, affects farmers’ decision of whether or not to apply fertilizer, ir-rigate the field, and harvest the crops, among others. On the other hand, too high or too low temperature can affect the growth of rice plants.

Weather forecasting, as well as seasonal climate forecast or the moni-toring of weather over longer periods of time, is an important tool to help farm-ers cope with these varying weather conditions.

PhilRice Agromet Networkis born

To support the data needs of PhilRice researchers, farmers, and other rice stakeholders, the PhilRice Agrometeorological Station Network (PhilRice Agromet Network) was established to lead the delivery of relevant climate-related information. This should help researchers and farm-ers deal and cope with the effects of weather and climate in rice production.

For its more detailed weather re-ports, PhilRice Agromet Network main-tains weather stations equipped with mechanical and automatic weather facilities in its stations in Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Negros Occi-


Weather’Ev A. Parac


PROFILE

Pangulo (president). The title is usually earned through superior number of votes. Others, however, earn it

through respect.Ask the farmers in San Ildefonso,

Bulacan, especially in Brgy Pinaod, and they will point to Dr. Josie A. Valdez, president of Bulacan Agri-cultural State College (BASC), as the holder of the moniker, Pangulo, which he earned not necessarily thru his official position but through re-

Dr. Josie A. Valdez:He ably proves his worth

spect established by his character and good relationship with them.

ChallengedDr. Valdez, also popularly known

as Pres to his staff, is a rice advo-cate who promotes the aerobic rice technology – a way of growing certain rice varieties in non-flooded and non-puddled soil.

Considered as grains of hope, the aerobic rice varieties can withstand long periods of less-water conditions.

During rounds of visit in the community after his installment as university president in 2002, he found out that limited supply of water limits the abundant rice production of farmers within the school’s commu-nity. When Dr. Junel Soriano, director for Research, Extension, Training and Production of BASC, informed him of the aerobic rice technology (ART) being promoted by the Irrigated Rice Research Consortium, he and his team made a proposal to fund the implementation of the technology in Bulacan.

However, what he thought was a noble goal was turned down.

Dr. Bas Bouman, one of the

technology proponents based at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), told him, “Prove your worth first, Dr. Valdez, for us to support the proposal.”

Although surprised, he was chal-lenged. His strong desire to help the farmers in the area motivated him to use college funds to promote the technology in the third district of Bulacan.

“Being a teacher for about 20 years and as a parent, I feel obliged not only to educate the stu-dents, but also to help the parents so they can sup-port the education of their children,” Dr. Valdez said.

Charisma Love B. Gado



After a year of self-financing the project, IRRI acceded to the proposal of BASC and funded the researches and field demonstrations relative to the technology in 2004.

Impressed, Bouman said, “BASC has the most systematic effort I have seen in the Philippines in produc-ing and providing aerobic rice seed supply.”

Spreading the grains of hopeValdez is proud of his roots. He

came from a farming family. As a child, Valdez transplanted rice, weed-ed their field, and helped in harvest-ing their crop. Already distinguished in his profession, he still maintains a 4-ha orchard, a combination of rice field and farm in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac.

“There’s money in agri-culture. This is the reason why I encourage farmers to continue farming and students to pursue agricul-ture degrees, and practice it in life,” he said.

From his farm, he earns an addi-tional P100,000 in rice per cropping season. However, he said that his income is still modest compared with other progressive rice farmers who can own a million-worth house and buy new cars from their incomes.

Owing to his belief that farming can lead to better life, he and his team spread the grains of hope by producing the seeds and conducting technology demonstrations on farm-ers’ fields.

“We presented the technology to the state colleges and universities in academic gatherings. Now, we have partners throughout the country,” he said.

BASC is joined by the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in La Union, Isabela State University (ISU), Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT), Bataan Peninsula State University (BPSU), and Palawan State Universi-ty (PSU) in espousing ART. Recently, his team was invited to introduce the technology in Mindanao.

Aside from IRRI, the Commis-

sion on Higher Education helped fund BASC’s research activities on aerobic rice seed production in 2008.

With the research and promotion endeavors mounted by BASC, the number of farmer-adopters in Bulacan increased from seven in the wet sea-son of 2004 to 54 in the wet season of 2007.

Meanwhile, PhilRice extends technical support in implementing the project.

Leading by doingAccording to Valdez, a proponent

needs to be one of the farmers to suc-cessfully implement a technology.

“Be a farmer, dress like them, and do what they do,” he emphasized.

During one of his field works, he recalls that the farmers commented on his “being one of them.” Planting with the farmers at 2 pm, the rice produc-ers said that he is the only school president and leader who works with them.

While promoting aerobic rice to Iwahig farmers in Palawan, Valdez also led the group in going to the muddy field when nobody wanted to start planting owing to the rain. When the others saw him moving in to the muddy field, his team members and the farmers followed suit.

In his own farm, he schedules major activities, such as transplanting, applying fertilizer, and harvesting on weekends so that he could personally demonstrate modern farm techniques to his farmer-laborers.

“Sometimes, the laborers hesitate to follow procedures because the tech-nique does not conform to their old farming practices. I patiently explain the new procedures and tell them that they are better than the old practices,” he said.

Eventually, there was no more need to “force” them to practice modern ways of farming as they can see for themselves the benefits of the technol-ogy.

“The farmers in my neighboring farm now trade their seeds for the aerobic rice seeds that I harvest,” he added.

Engaging studentsAs educator, Valdez exposes stu-

dents to the realities of farming. He said that students had witnessed the

rigors of farming experienced by their parents and the low income they get from agriculture. But, he said, he emphasizes to the students what needs to be done to shake off the stigma commonly associ-ated to agriculture.

“As in life, farming has ups and downs, but proper management and the use of new technologies can do wonders,” he said.

BASC partnered with the leading agricultural enterprise in Israel – the International Agricultural Studies Center under the Granot Group for the internships of their students. As interns in Israel, the students earn P20,000-P25,000 a month by working in the partners’ fields.

Other than the international expo-sure, Valdez also encourages students to visit farmers in their locality who made it big in farming.

“The exposures are meant for them to realize that there is gold in farming,” he said.

But, although the exposures are intended to showcase agriculture as source of big money, the higher goal is to engage them in realizing a deeper purpose for what they are doing.

“I also want them to know that as agriculture students, they have a nobler goal in life, which is helping the country become rice-self-sufficient,” he said.

Reaping the fruits of effortsAs a result of his down-to-earth

leadership style, Josie Valdez received awards.

Among others, he got the “2009 Excellence Award” – the highest honors given by the Philippine Federa-tion of Professional Associations, Inc; Maramba Award for being an outstand-ing agricultural engineer given by the Philippine Association of Agricultural Engineers in 2008; most distinguished alumnus award given during the cen-tennial celebration of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in 2007; and recently, the Gintong Butil Award from the CLSU Alumni Asso-ciation.



Their job needs them to woo the gods for water to irrigate many fields. Now, they woo farmers, too, to help save water.

The irrigation systems attached to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) maintain and rehabilitate irriga-tion canals, drainage channels, control gates, and other important irrigation infrastructure to regulate water release for rice fields. Their jobs require them to assure farmers of sufficient water in their service areas.

However, with the onslaught of El Niño, their job definitions now also include promoting water-saving tech-nologies and asking farmers to practice managing field water efficiently. These they do in collaboration with PhilRice.

Their situations are different. One of them has more than enough water for irrigation while the other has a dwindling water level. The Magat River (MARIIS) and Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS) have only one voice, a voice that says “save your water.”

MARIIS, UPRIIS, and PhilRice

Whether there is bountiful water supply or almost none, MARIIS and UPRIIS ask farmers to save water in their fields. They work closely with PhilRice through Engr. Evangeline Sibayan in a project called “Adoption of Controlled Irrigation in upstream and midstream irrigated farms” to advocate to the farmers Controlled Irrigation (CI) technology to efficiently distribute water in their respective service areas.

CI, also known as Alter-nate Wetting and Drying (AWD), is a water-saving technology that makes use of observation wells to monitor the status of field water which tells whether there is a need to irrigate the field and how much water is needed. The prac-tice is done from land prep-aration until crop maturity.

Irrigation systems:

Ella Lois T. Bestil

Water for you, save it


UPRIIS observed that farmers distribute water from paddy to paddy, which in a way limits water to flow in areas downstream. Only upstream farmers have access to irrigation water. This is why they welcomed PhilRice in promoting CI to farmers.

“UPRIIS is not a research institution to develop such technologies. That’s why we are glad PhilRice collaborated with us to dis-seminate the technology because we want to gradu-ally change the farmers’ attitudes on how to man-age their field water,” Engr. Carlito Gapasin, UPRIIS Engineering and Operations Division head, said.

Meanwhile, MARIIS collaborates with LGUs and PAO to help dissemi-nate information about CI to farmers. They carry out technology briefings and demonstrations with the help of PhilRice.

“Water is very important,” Engr. Mariano Dancel, MARIIS operations manager, always reminds his farmers.

MARIIS gives incentives to farm-ers who save water in their field. Their Irrigators’ Association will likewise receive an incentive from MARIIS if their farmer-members are able to save their water significantly.

But Dancel’s prime assurance to farmers is that they will always have a good standing crop in fields if water is regulated and well managed.

The MARIIS and UPRIIS’ wayThe areas covered by UPRIIS don’t

have problems in water. Currently, the Pantabangan Dam water reservoir has more than enough for Nueva Ecija. In fact, Engr. Antonio Nangel, NIA-UPRIIS operations manager, disclosed of the system’s capability of providing irrigation water to 80% of Nueva Ecija as well as to its neighboring provinces.

“UPRIIS can still provide enough ir-rigation water for the quick turnaround or the third crop after the main and dry season croppings and ratooning-identified areas,” Nangel said.

Despite the bountiful water resource, UPRIIS of-ficials still pushed through water saving advocacy. At the system’s level, they ori-ent their personnel to apply CI. This way, farmer-mem-bers of different Irrigators’ Associations under UPRIIS technicians can observe the outcome of using the tech-nology.

Also, UPRIIS strongly promotes rice ratooning because it needs only low irrigation requirement and production cost, and allows for high yields per unit area in less time. Rice ratooning is a technology where rice plants have the ability to regenerate new tillers after harvest. A ratooned crop has shorter maturity and costs less than growing a new crop.

On the other hand, MARIIS has a different story to tell. Dancel said there

really was a problem in water espe-cially in Isabela. There was enough water supply for MARIIS’ service areas only until January 28, 2010.

“Farmers through their respective Irrigators’ Associations will have to schedule for water release in their fields,” Dancel said. Because of that, MARIIS hurried to announce to the farmers that water would not be available for them if their area is not covered by the scheduled water re-lease. In fact, mobile sound systems moved around to inform farmers of the protocol in water release.

Not only that, they reduced their water release requirement to 10% last December and 30% in January. They released water in a ‘7 days-7days’ scheme which meant irrigat-ing for a week then resting for water release the following week.

Through such management, 95% of their service areas that include Quirino, Ifugao, and Isabela had enough water supply for the standing crop.

Owing to the need for water, MARIIS saw best to rehabilitate their water shed by planting trees.

Together, UPRIIS and MARIIS sounded calls to farmers to help them wash off the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon by follow-ing measures suggested to them for adoption.

The Magat River in Isabela supplies irrigation water to municipalities in Isabela, Ifugao, and Quirino


As the climate changes, the need for change in farming technology arises. That is, from the conventional, traditional,

and reduced tillage technologies to the no-tillage systems.

“I did not believe in this no-tillage technology when introduced to us. But we tried and tested it. And it worked!” Dr. Manuel Jose Regalado, Chief Sci-ence Research Specialist of PhilRice and co-proponent of the no-tillage technology, said.

“I’m thinking now of recommending this technol-ogy for further validation in some Location-Specific Technology Development (LSTD) sites and its pos-sible adoption to fight drought or mitigate the effects of climate change,” Regalado added.

No-tillage is defined as a way of growing crops from year to year with-out disturbing the soil through tillage.

According to Regalado, the no-tillage technology is different from the zero-tillage technology. It is a method, he said, that directly drills seeds into undisturbed soil, with the use of a zero-till planter or a slit seeder.

The processRegalado, together with Engr. Isidro

Villaflor, former provincial agriculturist of Nueva Ecija, led the experiments on no-tillage technology conducted at the Central Experiment Station of PhilRice in the 2009 wet and dry seasons and 2010 DS. They refined the technique originally developed by Villaflor and

compared its effectiveness with the conventional method of rice growing using intensive land preparation.

Based on their experiments, they irrigate first the rice land. Then, they allow the weeds to grow and apply herbicide later to kill them. Two days after spraying, they scatter on the field rice straws and after another two days, they flood the field with at least 2-3 cm-deep of water. With the use of riding-type leveler attached to the hand tractor, they press the stubbles to the ground six days after flooding. They repeated the pressing operation six days after the first pressing.

“The method did away with several processes in land preparation. It took

us only 15 days to prepare the land compared with the 21 days in the conventional tillage system, which includes plowing, harrowing, and level-ing,” Regalado said.

The tech and droughtStudies conducted by researchers

in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln showed that tilling the field reduces the amount of water by around 1/3 to ¾ inch per pass due to evaporation. By not tilling the field, the researchers said the water stays in the soil, making it available to rice plants.

Moreover, through the zero-tillage technology, carbon remains under-ground which is good for the storage

No-tillage technology:

Ma. Adrielle D. Solsoloy

Dr. Manuel Jose Regalado leads the research on no-tillage technology for irrigated rice lands.


tried, tested for climate puzzles


of the soil’s organic matter that can be used by the rice plants.

Since the tillage system began a few hundred years ago, Dr. Rattan Lal, a scientist from the Ohio State Univer-sity said that about 78 billion metric tons of carbon trapped in the soil were released in the form of carbon dioxide that contributed to climate change or global warming.

Generally, the zero-tillage technol-ogy improves the soil quality, carbon, organic matter, and aggregates; pro-tects the soil from erosion and water evaporation, and prevents structural breakdown in the field.

Results of their study, Regalado said, debunked the belief that the roots are shorter if planted in a zero-tilled land. The roots of randomly selected rice plants planted in a zero-tilled and tilled land showed minimal difference indicating that roots of rice plants can reach the level where water and nutri-ents are available.

Other benefitsAside from helping pre-

vent global warming and providing partial solution to water scarcity, the no-tillage technology also showed promising yield and

lessened expenses in rice production.

Regalado’s experiment showed that the crop yield in zero-tillage was significantly higher than with the yield in conventional tillage during the 2009 WS. The variety used was PSB Rc82. During the 2009 DS, however, the expected yield was not met because it was infested by stemborers owing to

With the no-tillage technology, farmers can achieve good harvest during periods of drought.

the late seeding of the crop.He also said that during the 2009

WS, labor productivity was higher (69 vs. 59 kg paddy yield per man-day), unit production cost was lower (Php10.80/kg vs. Php12.60/kg), and energy efficiency was higher (7.4 vs. 5.3 overall energy ratio) in zero-tillage technology compared with the conven-tional tillage technology.

Regalado’s field worker testified that it was easier for him to level and press the land if not tilled.

He cautioned, though, that the no-tillage technology is just an alternative technology offered for use when there is drought condition. The drawback is that “since no-tillage is compatible only with direct seeding, the direct-seeded crop may experience lodging, especially during WS since the surface-seeded crop might have roots that are not anchored properly in the soil.”

During the dry season, the no-tillage technology, especially at this time of climate change usually spelled out by prolonged dry spell, technology adoption makes a difference.

Equipped with the knowledge of the no-tillage technology, the farmers can easily brace themselves for the El Niño phenomenon and continue achieving farm productivity and the dreamed-of rice self-sufficiency in the country.

No-tilled and tilled land showed minimal difference in the length of the roots of rice plants, indi-cating that crop grown in untilled lands can still get adequate water and nutrient supplies.



It was their first time to try it. Then, they said they’re going to use it from then on. In fact, they experi-enced a “high”— a high in farm-

ing, that is. Andres Cabanilla, 45, of San

Antonio, Cauayan City, Isabela used it twice in 2009 and loved it. His high yield was enough evidence to commit himself to a resolve to use it again and again. The technology Cabanilla and the others used was controlled irriga-tion (CI).

CI was introduced to Cauayan farmers in 2009 by PhilRice through the Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS) based in Isabela.

In their first time to use CI, the farmers belonging to Sillawit Irrigators’ Associa-tion in Cauayan were im-mediately convinced about the effectiveness of the technology and they com-mitted to use it in the suc-ceeding seasons.

CI is a water-saving technology, which is also known as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) system. It makes use of observation “wells” that determine the status of water in the

field. CI was promoted for use from land

preparation until maturity of the crop. The farmers in the tail end of the ir-rigation system still had water in their fields because of the employment of the CI technology.

“Of course, I am convinced,” Catherine Damatan, 46, president of the Sillawit Irrigators’ Association, said when asked whether or not she will use CI in the next cropping seasons. “Through CI, I know when to irrigate my field, and what I’m doing now is better than before,” she added.

Water problems and water saving

Passersby in Cauayan will never think Isabela, which is one of the provinces that reeled under the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, had problems in irrigation water. A cursory look of the rice fields may lead them to stop and ask what the farmers did to mitigate the effects of drought.

It was true. Water became a big problem in Cauayan. While some corn and rice plants looked healthy yel-low, most have the yellow of dryness, descriptive of utter lack in water.

In Pedrito dela Cruz’s case, the field of this 58-year-old farmer of Alinam, Cauayan City lacked water when his

rice plants were at their flowering stage. As expected, as water is very crucial at the plants’ flowering stage, unfilled grains showed. Moreover, his rice plants did not mature uniformly.

Meanwhile, Andres recalled that during the dry spell in 2007, his field prematurely dried up at the time the plants still needed water. His harvest dropped considerably.

Because of the drought, Catherine, or Cathy, said some farmers became laggards in farming. Some of them just left their fields unattended for a crop-ping season.

Now that there is CI, Cathy, who tried successfully the technology, has something to share to her fellow farmers. Moreover, because of CI, the use of irrigation water in Cauayan City became efficient and rice plants looked healthy even during the prolonged dry spell.

Irrigation is controlled through observation “wells” installed in the fields by pushing the “well” until its bottom is 15-20 cm below the ground. These observa-tion wells allow farmers to monitor the status of water

High yields, high optimism amid limited water Ella Lois T. Bestil

The observation “well” is used to determine the right time to irrigate.

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water depth from flower-ing to grain filling,” Sibayan said.

In fact, in her project, Adoption of Controlled Irrigation in upstream and midstream irrigated farms, Sibayan found a 15-35% cut in irrigation re-quirement without yield reduction.

Moreover, NIA was able to dis-tribute 1.0 million cubic meters of water for 60-68 ha from its usual 50 ha distribution. Farmers now irrigate once every 10 days instead of the old practice of once a week.

The impact of the technology has led to the release of an administrative order from the Department of Agricul-ture mandating the adoption of water-saving technologies in all irrigation systems in the country. The guidelines

in their field and help them determine the appropriate amount of water and timing of irrigation.

Cathy said farmers immediately irrigate their fields when they see that the soil surface is dry. But, the use of CI makes them less alarmed, she added.

“The observation wells tell them if the field still has water of about 2-3 cm, which is not yet time to irrigate the field,” Cathy said.

High after useAndres is Villady Irrigators’ Associa-

tion president. He demonstrates his mettle as a leader by sharing irrigation water with his constituents, and the expectation for better yield.

In his 6-ha field, Andres’ NSIC Rc156 and 128 varieties were able to yield 74-100 cavans/ha in the two cropping seasons that he used an observation well. The observation well provided by PhilRice is a 25-cm long plastic tube with a 10-cm diameter. It has lined holes down the side of the

tube.Perfecting its use,

Andres ‘counted’ 95 cavans/ha (4.75 t/ha) harvest plus an estimate of 25 cavans (1.25 t/ha)more in his unharvested fields this

season. Not only that, he was glad he was able to share water for the fields of other farmers.

It was Cathy’s first time to try CI in her 24 years in farming. So was Pedrito in his five years of farming. Though they can’t still see the benefits of CI to their rice yields, they were glad to see other farmers benefit from this irrigation technology.

“CI allowed me to share irrigation water to others while my field doesn’t need much yet,” Pedrito said. He said that while his field is not in need of irrigation water yet, the flow is diverted to those which need much water. “We are now able to help each other instead of fighting each other to get irrigation water,” he said.

“Now that they can see how my rice plants grow healthy even with little

Andres Cabanilla of Cauayan City, Isabela saved a lot of resources from adapting CI that he still has some to alot for quite a fine living.

Unlike his fellow farmers, Pedrito dela Cruz of Cau-ayan City, Isabela is still high in farming despite his age. Thanks to CI which gave him optimism amid limited water.

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surface water, they become vibrant again, thanks to the CI technology! I’m sure that when they use this technol-ogy, they too can experience the ‘high’ that I have been experiencing now,” she added.

UpshotPhilRice Engr. Evangeline Sibayan,

head of the CI technical working group, said farmers practicing CI were able to apply the right amount of water at the right time.

“There was no ponded or stock water during tillering stage and the farmers were able to maintain 5-7 cm

have prompted NIA, Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), DA-Regional Field Units (DA-RFUs), Phil-Rice, and Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) to provide technical support and assistance to cooperating Irrigators’ Associations (IA) in implementing such technologies.

Aside from CI, the guidelines stipu-lated other sound water-saving field management practices for farmers to apply, such as dry-plowing instead of puddling, direct dry- or wet-seeding instead of transplanting, thorough leveling, use of internal farm ditches, shallow tillage immediately after harvest, and use of early-maturing and drought-tolerant varieties. (with reports from Christina A. Frediles)

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Do saving money, reducing labor, and increasing produc-tivity in rice production during El Niño sound ridiculous?

They do not if are aware, that is, of a technology that squarely answers the problem associated with the prolonged dry spell.

Usually, in areas where rainfall is unpredictable, many farmers practice the old system of dry seeding. The plants, as a result, oftentimes grow poorly due to over-drying of the seeds.

Predictably, the farmers are hustled

and forlorn. They become encumbered in the thoughts that their practice would not be able to provide much harvest from their rice lands.

This predicament of the farmers pushed PhilRice Batac, in collabora-tion with some farmers and local government unit technicians, to modify the usual dry direct seeding technique practiced in rice-growing areas.

The Modified Dry Direct Seeding Technology (MDDST) improved tradi-tional direct seeding method. It also reduced labor. Income in production,

as a result of the use of MDDST, is also increased.

The modificationsThe former DDST uses dry seeds

on dry soil. This is done by leveling, weeding, and harrowing the field until the clods become as fine as the seeds.

Direct seeding requires 120 kg/ha or more seeds for optimum productiv-ity.

On the other hand, MDDST needs 60 to 80 kg/ha of certified seeds. It uses pre-germinated seeds on moist

Marc Elvin T. Lozano

Modified Dry Direct Seeding Technique contends with El Niño


Dr. Dindo Tabanao prepares rice DNA for polymerase chain reaction (PCR).


soil. With this technology, rice seeds are sown uniformly on a well lithao-prepared furrow, preferably at dawn or dusk, when the upper 25-30 cm depth of the soil is moist.

According to Samuel P. Liboon, lead researcher of MDDST, the broad-cast seeds must be covered with soil by passing a wooden plank, drawn diagonally with the direction of the fur-row by a farm animal or a small hand tractor.

“The reason for cover-ing the seeds is to have a soil-seed-water contact for faster seed emergence,” Liboon added.

Since weeds in direct seeding are not as manageable as in transplant-ing, herbicides should be applied after covering the seeds.

Development of varieties MDDST is a technology covering

only the sowing stage of rice produc-tion. As the plants grow, it may lead to rainfed flooding and therefore, this technology is a form of “lowland” rice cultivation. In cases of unflooded fields from sowing to harvesting, develop-ment of aerobic rice is now being undertaken.

For many years now, PhilRice in collaboration with IRRI, has been developing aerobic rice technology as a mitigating measure for limited water supply.

“What we are trying to start now is the develop-ment of genotypes that are themselves designed for aerobic cultivation,” said plant breeder Dr. Dindo Tabanao.

Water-saving techniques for ir-rigated lowland cultivation have been designed to reduce water consumption without adversely affecting the yield.

“But ultimately, the plant itself has to be redesigned if it is to adapt to moisture conditions more radical than just alternate wetting and drying,” Tabanao added.

As the study for varieties progress-es, PhilRice has been recommending the use of drought-tolerant varieties such as PSB Rc14. This variety can

give a yield advantage of 1.6 t/ha using the MDDST over those planted using the traditional farmers’ practice.

Another newly released PhilRice-bred variety for drought-prone areas is the NSIC Rc 192 or Sahod Ulan 1 for rainfed lowland.

Is it really ridiculous?Alma C. Aguinaldo of PhilRice Batac

reported that farmer-cooperators in Re-gion I and Abra harvested 7 t/ha using the MDDST.

By maximizing the use of available soil moisture, farmers can save P2,500 to P3,500 per hectare on seedbed preparation, pulling, and transplanting costs.

Moreover, “farmers can plant other crops earlier to use the soil’s residual moisture,” Aguinaldo said.

She added that the farmers who tried MDDST experienced increase in net income by P16,000 to P18,000 per hectare.

If the farmers in the rainfed areas wait for rain before they transplant, chances are their plants will be more exposed to typhoons and droughts. On the other hand, delayed transplanting because of insufficient water lessens til-lers, hence, there is less production and income. With the use of the MDDST, farmers in rainfed areas can plant on time and harvest in the early weeks of September without depending so much on rain water.

Water scarcity is one of the loom-ing realities brought about by climate change. With the use of new technology and variety, however, saving money, reducing labor, and increasing produc-tivity in rice production during El Niño does not sound so ridiculous after all.

To help increase rice production

in drought-prone areas, PhilRice

currently evaluates the drought toler-

ance level of some varieties.



GLOBAL RICE UPDATECompiled by Elaine E. Joshi, Librarian

Farmers to get free computers in plan to boost production

A US$1.57 million project to provide free computers to 1,296 communes is going to take place in Vietnam this year. According to Truong Thanh Phong, Chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association (VFA), this is aimed at helping farmers to take advantage of information available on the Internet about new rice growing methods, the agricultural material market and the rice consumer market. Farm-ers will be able to improve their production and make decisions on the rice they will grow, when to sell their products and the price they should set. He further said that with the information of market movement, buyers will have less control on farmers. Le Hoang Minh, Deputy Chairman of VFA’s Central Committee, said that farmers will be able to contact and consult industry experts and scientists via the Internet to deal with the current epidem-ics on their breeds and seeds.

The computers will be set up at the headquarters of commune-level people’s committees or experienced farm-ers’ houses to be easily accessible. Farmers will take part

in courses on how to use computers, surf websites, and study on the internet. Useful and popular websites for farmers will also be introduced. (http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/Agriculture/198619/Farmers-to-get-free2010/04/15)

Eco-concrete made from rice husk

Concrete made from rice husk and coal ash waste is being developed in a scheme to tackle climate change. Traditional methods of concrete production release large quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. British and Indian researchers are working together on the scheme to cut the carbon footprint of concrete.

A major component of traditional concrete is Portland cement, which for every tonne of cement produced, about one tonne of CO2 is released in the atmosphere. As a result, concrete production amounts to approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions. Dr. Kevin Paine, from the University of Bath, said: “Concrete is the second most used material in the world after water, and so reducing the CO2 emissions produced by it could make a real difference to climate change.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/tayside_ and_central/8616406.stm 2010/04/13)

Fruit topping 1 can fruit cocktail 1 box all-purpose cream 1/8 cup raisins2 tablespoons condensed milk

Rice mixture 1 cup evaporated milk½ cup sugar1 cup glutinous rice, cooked¼ cup water

Gelatin 1 ½ cup fruit cocktail juice1 ½ cup water3 tablespoon clear gelatin

There’s more to rice than boiling it! You could make it as a dessert like this featured cool rice recipe.

In a medium bowl, combine fruit cocktail, all-purpose cream, raisins, and condensed milk. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and water. Stir over medium heat without boiling. Continue cooking until sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and add rice. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until nearly all the liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 10 more minutes.

Press the rice mixture in a 7” x 7” baking pan using a spatula. Top rice layer with fruit salad. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine fruit cocktail juice, water, and gelatin. Stir over medium heat until gelatin is dissolved.

Pour on top of the rice and fruits layer. Cover with food wrap and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Fruity RiceFruity Rice



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PHILIPPINE RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Central Experiment StationMaligaya, Science City of Muñoz, 3119 Nueva EcijaTel.: 53(044) 456-0113, -0285, -0258 • Telefax 63 (044) 456-0649, -0651, -0652 loc.511 or 512E-mail: [email protected] • Website: http://www.philrice.gov.phText: 0920-911-1398

Entered as second class mail at Postal Region III under Permit No. 91

Water line. With properly maintained dikes and ditches, even water distribution and drainage are ensured.

PhilRice Magazine 2Q 2010

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