2005:
•The Ifugao rice terraces in northern Luzon have been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site because of their beauty and their physical representation of a remarkable rice-based culture going back several thousand years (see article in Philippine Post). This massive system of terraces traversing several thousand feet of elevation is deteriorating, however, as farmers and especially their next generation are withdrawing from rice cultivation because it is not remunerative enough, especially with the rising costs of modern agricultural inputs.

Since SRI methods can raise production while reducing dependent on purchased inputs, we have thought they could help to preserve rice culture in the Ifugao terraces. Sept. 26, Obet Verzola, volunteer coordinator of the SRI-Pilipinas network, visited the area for a rice festival and reported the results of the first assessments of SRI productivity under local, on-farm conditions.

The variety grown with both SRI and conventional methods was an indigenous aromatic rice, a local favorite called Tinawon (which means “once a year”). Six agricultural technicians from the local government (municipality) did the crop cuts and reported that the SRI methods gave an average yield of 1.5 kg/m2 (15.0 t/ha) compared to 0.45 kg/m2 (4.5 t/ha) with standard methods.

The NGO supporting the introduction of SRI in the Ifugao territories, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), was disappointed that the plants had only 13 tillers on average (“we were expecting more”), but the technicians were elated. “Our local varieties tend to have only 3-6 tillers, so 13 is a major improvement,” they said.

These results will surely capture local attention. If SRI methods can make rice-growing more profitable, this should help to stop abandonment of rice production and of terrace maintenance, to preserve the magnificent terrace system. If farmers can get such high yields from local varieties, this will help to conserve rice biodiversity as well as cultural diversity.

SRI Progress (1998-2004)
• SRI was introduced into the Philippines when Justin Rabenandrasana, secretary of Association Tefy Saina, made a presentation on the methods at a national NGO workshop on rice improvement, organized by the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) in June 1998. Rabenandrasana's presentation, published in the ILEIA newsletter afterwards, helped NGOs such as the Consortium for Development of Southern Mindanao Cooperatives (CDSMC) and Broader Initiatives for Negros Development (BIND) start up SRI trials. See CDSMC reports for 1999-2000, 2000, and through 2002 and BIND report for 2001. For an overview of experience the first two years, see Gasparillo's article from the Sanya, China, 2002, conference proceedings.

• A series of national SRI workshops, organized by the Philippine Greens and the Philippine Movement for Rural Reconstruction, the national affiliate of IIRR, began in April 2002, with follow-up workshops in March 2003 and March 2004, coinciding with visits (and participation) by N. Uphoff from CIIFAD. NGOs and farmer organizations from Isabella Province in the north to Mindanao in the south have participated in all these get-togethers, with growing participation from government agencies, universities and the media. A national SRI network, SRI-Pilipinas, supported particularly by Philippine farmer associations and NGOs is now functioning (contact the network coordinator at rverzola@gn.apc.org). For an update on SRI experience in the Philippines, see Verzola paper.

• Farmer innovation and experimentation has been an important part of the Philippines SRI experience. A PowerPoint presentation by farmer-leader Rene Janarilla that was made for the 2004 workshop is particularly instructive. Nicasio Engallado has done very interesting trials evaluating different of combinations of SRI and fish culture with different kinds of organic fertilization and/or with ducks.

• The Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture has taken an interest in SRI since 2001, and it hosted an SRI seminar by Uphoff in April 2002. That year, the ATI center in Southern Mindanao, evaluating SRI methods with three different varieties, got an average SRI yield of 12 t/ha. In 2004, the Cotobato ATI center got an SRI yield of 17 t/ha.The DA's Bureau of Agricultural Research is also taking an interest in SRI, hosting a seminar by Uphoff in March 2004.

• The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is interested in SRI particularly because of its water-saving possibilities, as this resource is becoming more and more of a constraint on rice production in the Philippines. Two initial evaluations, one by Bong Salazar, a NIA regional irrigation engineer in Mindanao, and one by three Farmer Field Schools assisted by NIA in the Visayan region, have shown both higher yields and increased profitability of SRI along with water saving. NIA is encouraging SRI introduction and its assessment in irrigation systems all around the country.

• A number of Philippine universities are evaluating SRI. The first studies were done by students in the agronomy department of the University of Philippines' College of Agriculture, and these are continuing. See report of UPLB research on phyllochrons. The Sustainable Agriculture Center of Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao; Central Luzon State University in Nueva Ecija; and Leyte State University in the Eastern Visayas, which all hosted seminars by Uphoff in March 2004, are now working on SRI.

• The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has taken an interest in SRI, hosting seminars by Uphoff in March 2003 and March 2004. Its own own-station evaluations have not been particularly impressive, but it has been cooperating with a network of NGOs that are introducing and testing SRI in a number of locations around the country. It now recommends SRI methods as well-suited for small farmers in the Philippines.

• A very promising adaptation of SRI concepts to upland rice production has been made by Broader Initiatives for Negros Development. BIND staff member Robert Gasparillo set up carefully laid out and measured trials on 4,000 m2 in 2002: 20 plots with 4 replications of 5 spacings (20x40, 25x40, 30x40, 35x40, and 40x40 cm) using an aromatic traditional variety, Azucaena. Since unirrigated rice does not get transplanted, the main innovation was the use of mulch, which conserves soil moisture, suppresses weeds, and lowers soil temperature (thereby encouraging earthworm populations in the topsoil). Average yields were 7.2 t/ha, about 4 times the usual yield with rainfed, unirrigated rice. No chemical fertilization was used; only chicken manure (at a rate of 60 kg N/ha) and a seaweed foliar spray. Details are given in the BIND report accessible by clicking above.

Note: This adaptation of SRI principles to upland rice production built on research done in Madagascar by Bruno Andrianaivo and Joeli Barison in 1999. This achieved an upland rice yield on a farmer's field of 4 t/ha. Further work on 'upland SRI' should be undertaken under a variety of circumstances since upland households are some of the world's most hungry and impoverished and could get the most benefit from these principles.

• The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at Los Baños did its first SRI trials in 2003, with a yield of only 1.44 t/ha. IRRI's next season results were not much better, only 3 t/ha. Since other evaluations of SRI methods in the Philippines have given much higher yields, this supports the inference that soil biological factors play a key role in triggering 'the SRI effect.' The soils at Los Baños have been monocropped for decades and have had heavy applications of fertilizer and agrochemicals which would reduce the abundance and diversity of soil biota (see Rickman's report).

Workshops

• A Farmer's Symposium, hosted by the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and co-sponsored by the Philippine Greens, was held March 12, 2003.
• A National SRI Workshop hosted the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) was held in Quezon City on March 19, 2004.

Reports, Articles and Extension Information

• Mariano, Dan. 2008. System of Rice Intensification, in The Manila Times, opinion section (online). March 31.
• Ventura, F. (editor) and A.P.Pabico, (videographer/producer). 2008. Alternative Rice Planting Method Key to Self-Sufficiency: Video about SRI in the Philippines. (10:25 minutes) 26.8 MB. (Note: scroll down through blog to get to video)
• de la Rosa, Zosimo M. 2006. System of Rice Intensification and Conventional Rice Culture: A Demonstration Trial at VSU Campus, Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines. FARMI, Visayas State University. Unpublished project report. 15 p. (pdf)
• Verzola, Roberto. 2005. SRI, Seeds and Software: Converging Advocacies?, presentation at Cornell Univesity, April 25. (download PowerPoint presentation)(see also Verzola's article Information technologies for farmers in the ITnetcentral website. This article describes how he uses cell phones and video players to promote SRI in the Philippines)
• SRI On-Farm Trials in Eastern Visayas - Progress Report Leyte State University, Cornell University (funded by ALO, 2004)
• SRI Experience in the Philippines, a presentation by Robert Gasparillo (Broad Initiative for Negros Development) at the International Conference "Assessments of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI)," Sanya, China, April 1-4, 2002
• SRI, Seeds and Software: Converging Advocacies?, a presentation given by Roberto Verzola at Cornell Univesity, April 25, 2005. (download PowerPoint presentation)(see also Verzola's article Information technologies for farmers in the ITnetcentral website. This article describes how he uses cell phones and video players to promote SRI in the Philippines)
• Norman Uphoff's Philippine trip reports:
  March 2003, March 2004, March 2005, March 2006
• An 8-page practical manual, More Rice with Less Water through SRI, has been translated into English by Dr. Pam Fernandez at the Univeristy of the Philippines at Los Banos.
  
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For Philippine SRI information contact the SRI Pilipinas Network Coordinator, Roberto Verzola