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Rice farmers adapt to climate

by Gemma Rita R. Marin
Philippine Daily Inquirer
March 23, 2010

THE EXTREME HEAT IS getting into my nerves.

About this same time last year, I was in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, for a study on the adaptation of small rice farmers to climate change. Even when it was almost noontime, the weather was cool. The sun was shining, and the crisp, windy and cool air was a delight.

Not this year. It has been excruciatingly hot since early February. El Niño has set in, and Pagasa says it is officially summertime. The temperature has reportedly reached a high 37 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country, and may intensify to over 40 degrees in the next weeks or months.

Every day, we hear about the consequences of this dry spell. People are getting headaches and migraine, rashes, allergies and heat stroke. Water reservoirs are drying up, taking their toll on the supply of electricity and causing a power crisis, particularly in Mindanao where a state of calamity has been declared. Agricultural lands such as those in the north are cracking up and producing crops below standard.

The last scenario is described in a study that the John Carroll Institute conducted last year on climate change and the small rice farmers in rain-fed areas. Two cases of adaptation of small rice farmers’ organizations to climate change to ensure land productivity, sustain their production and incomes were documented: one located in an area that has become more wet (Iloilo), and the other in a drier area (Nueva Ecija).

Nueva Ecija was identified as one of the foremost areas in the country that had experienced less rain in the past three decades. The farmers’ organization whose story I documented is Kalipunan ng mga Magbubukid para sa Likas-Kayang Sakahan sa Nueva Ecija or Kalikasan-NE. It was established in 1993 to encourage its members to engage in organic rice farming following the promotion of sustainable agriculture and integrated area development by PRRM, its partner-NGO.

For the past decades, Kalikasan-NE member-farmers observed that the rains were delayed. The rainy season usually began in May or June during the year and it would continuously pour in moderate amounts until September. In later years, however, the rainfall during the same period became intermittent. When it rained during the first week of June, for instance, it would unexpectedly stop, and resume in July, only to be followed by a dry spell. The weather has become so unpredictable that it would still be raining in December until March of the following year, even if the rainy season was supposed to have ended in November.

With less rainfall, water has become scarce and the fields have become so dry that the soil has cracked. The soil has also hardened, making it more backbreaking for the carabao to work on the land. Whereas one seedling used to spring out seven tillers, the change in rainfall and dryness in the area now spouts only two to three tillers. With the generally stunted or delayed growth, the seedlings become ready for transplanting in 45 days compared to 25-30 days previously. Without any intervention, the drought in the area in the past decades easily cut rice production by about 50 percent—from 80-100 cavans per hectare to 40-50 cavans. There are also fewer life forms in the field. Where before the farmer brought home some fish for food (e.g., dalag, gurami) from the farm at the end of the day, today there is nothing to bring home.

To counteract these unwelcome occurrences, the farmers dug up the land so deep in order to draw water from the ground. Water pumps and shallow tube well sets were then used to irrigate the farms. On the upside, this allowed two cropping seasons for some farms. On the downside, it took 12-15 hours to provide sufficient water to a hectare of land as against 6-8 hours before. The farmers applied seeds sourced from PhilRice that required less water and a shorter period of 90 days (vs. 120 days) to harvest. Synchronized planting, where farmer undertake the same farming system (e.g., systems rice intensification or SRI, low external input rice production or LEIRP) was performed, aiding in pest control management for contiguous fields.

As part of the diversified and integrated farming systems, they also planted other crops for their other food needs as well as multi-purpose tree species to serve as windbreakers during windy season as well as provide instant fertilizer with the leaves that fall to the ground.

These technical or bio-physical adaptation strategies necessitated more working capital for fuel and labor, and correspondingly meant higher costs of production. Because a farmer had to produce at least 60 cavans of rice per hectare to break even, he almost always had no recourse but to rely on a trader for financing.

The farmers also engaged in other agricultural endeavors such as onion production, poultry, piggery and vegetable farming to augment their incomes. Other sources of income were non-agricultural, such as carpentry work or driving tricycles or jeepneys during weekends.

The hot weather which I am grumbling about has indeed brought about adverse consequences on the properties and lives of these farmers, and yet they have managed to withstand the difficulties and turn the tide in their favor. My situation is far simpler and a lot more comfortable. With the scorching heat, I can choose to stay in the air-conditioned rooms in our office and still get compensation for a day’s work. During the weekend, I can gallivant in air-conditioned malls or rest in some cool and quiet place at home.

The weather bureau warns of hot days ahead after several days of scattered rain showers in the past week. I should be among the last to complain.

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