NATIVE RICE AND SUSTAINABILITY

The cultivation of modern high yielding rice varieties (HYVs) heavily dependent on chemical inputs has become widespread in Cordillera indigenous farming communities, resulting in the decline of cultivation of native rice, loss of indigenous knowledge on rice farming, and degradation of soil quality. Some Cordillera native rice varieties take longer to cultivate than HYVs, but many are climate and pest resilient and have early maturing potentials. Searching for alternatives to HYVs, we tested and cultivated in our Lacnog Learning Site for Native Rice Propagation over a hundred native varieties and chose the best varieties for propagation based on yield, aroma, pest resistance and adaptability. Initial results and feedback from partner farmers are encouraging. Our solution includes innovating on a package of technologies from seed selection, storage to post harvest. Propagation and cultivation of indigenous and native rice varieties worldwide could help heavily damaged farmlands recover while attaining food sustainability.

The problem we are solving is three-fold:

(1) the continuing loss of native rice varieties (NRVs) in the Cordillera region, northern Philippines, and the decline of indigenous knowledge on native rice cultivation. When farmers stop cultivating their native rice, these eventually disappear along with the indigenous knowledge systems associated with their cultivation;

 (2) degradation of land and environment due to the widespread use of HYVs that are highly dependent on chemical inputs. Minimizing or putting an end to HYV cultivation will also have impact on the health and well-being of farmers, especially the women who play major roles from seed selection, to cleaning and maintaining rice fields, until harvesting and threshing of palay; and

 (3) food insecurity. HYVs are less resilient than native rice varieties. NRVs are better suited in a region that is frequently visited by typhoons because these withstand flooding and rain better than HYVs. HYVs are also more attractive to pests and less resistant to drought. Thus, farmers who cultivate HYVs are more vulnerable. Sadly, some government agencies promote the cultivation of HYVs.

 The long term goal is to have food sustainability in indigenous communities in the Cordillera region. 

Our solution promotes community-based propagation of native rice varieties in the Cordillera region with the best potential to serve as alternative to modern HYVs. We established a Learning Site for Native Rice Propagation in Lacnog, Tabuk City, Kalinga province for participatory studies and innovation on the cultivation of NRVs. Aside from promoting native rice cultivation, our solution recovers and revitalizes indigenous knowledge on native rice cultivation, regains the diversity and soil fertility of our rice fields, helps farmers produce their own seeds of NRVs and frees them from using HYVs whose seeds are monopolized and sold at a higher cost by big companies. Our solution directly benefits women because rice farming in the Cordillera region is primarily the domain of women. It is more sustainable, tied to indigenous culture and has potential of adding household income by taking advantage of a growing niche market for organic products.

We will develop educational and advocacy materials to explain the importance and cultural value of native rice, provide technical information on NRV propagation and updated statistics on NRV cultivators, and support the formulation of policies by local governments encouraging the propagation of NRVs in the Cordillera. Our solution promotes biodiversity and food security.

Our solution serves the Cordillera families who rely on subsistence rice farming, 25.8% of which cultivate native rice. 2010 government data on membership on rice cooperatives showed that women outnumbered the men (56.67% women to 43.43% men). Our solution will: (1) provide families a sustainable source of rice, an important staple food; (2) free farmers, especially women farmers, from their reliance on HYVs and inorganic chemicals and fertilizers; (3) restore degraded rice fields and improve the health of farmers; and (4) provide additional source of income that takes advantage of a growing market for organic food.

For our solution, our current partners are community-based farmers’ organizations near the Lacnog Learning Site and other people's organizations in the province of Kalinga.  These are organizations whom CorDisRDS and other NGOs have helped organize.  Most have active officers and members while others still need to be capacitated.  They are the farmer groups who will first benefit from our solution.

As we reach out to more beneficiaries of our solution to the entire region, we hope to revitalize and strengthen the indigenous knowledge systems on native rice cultivation and the Cordillera peoples’ cultural and spiritual connection to an important part of their heritage.

Our solution promotes regenerative agriculture, particularly native rice agriculture – one that leverages both indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge, is culture-based, participatory and sustainable. As an environmentally friendly approach to rice farming, it is consistent with indigenous peoples’ knowledge and practices on resource management that promote biodiversity and enhance diverse ecosystems. Our solution creates opportunities for communities that are engaged in subsistence rice farming to become more self-reliant and any extra yield can eventually be sold to take advantage of a growing market for organic and indigenous produce, thus providing additional livelihood to families.

Our organization has 2.9 hectares of farmland in Tabuk City, Kalinga.  In 2019, we set aside 7000 square meters for our native rice propagation project. The pilot stage covered a 3-cropping cycle from July 2019 to April 2021 where we planted and harvested NRVs with rigorous documentation and monitoring. For the 1st cropping, we planted 103 NRVs in our Learning Site using bio-organic and indigenous farming methods. We used a list of criteria to select the best 20 varieties for the 2nd cropping, then down to 9 varieties after the 3rd cropping. We gave seeds to partner farmers for propagation in their farms to test suitability and gather feedback. Next stage is to involve more indigenous communities to continue our participatory research and  innovate on a package of technologies on native rice propagation and cultivation (from seed selection to post-harvest, including storage, shelf life, propagation through seed exchange).

Cordillera families are subsistence rice farmers; cultivating NRVs is part of their culture and heritage, evolved through hundreds of years. Our solution serves these subsistence rice farmers, utilizing research on indigenous knowledge and scientific knowledge to test and cultivate native rice varieties that are suitable for propagation and cultivation in the region.

 In recent years, NRV cultivation has become increasingly difficult. Government has promoted the cultivation of modern HYVs as an easy solution to decreasing rice production. This has created unintended problems. On the other hand, some government programs promoting native rice cultivation are mainly for commercial purposes, marketing NRVs as heirloom rice, but eventually posing problems to small farmers who at one time could not keep up with the demand.

 Multiple evidence-based cultivation of NRVs along with improved package of technologies from soil selection to post harvest, with establishment of community-based seed banks is a new approach and could significantly change the trajectory of native rice cultivation for subsistence farmers and women farmers in the Cordillera region.

Success here could create a ripple effect that could revitalize the sustainable propagation and cultivation of native rice varieties in the region. Overall, the project will help revitalize the rice culture of the Cordillera peoples.

Our current partner farmers for this solution number around 216 households from  villages in the municipalities of Tanglag and Pinukpuk, province of Kalinga.

 In one year, we plan to engage more households in other municipalities. Our target is around  50% increase in the number of  households we are currently serving.

 We envision that in five years, more households in the Cordillera region will participate in and benefit from our solution. Our target is to engage around 3000 households as partners and beneficiaries of our program.

1.   Increased number of adaptors/partners who will cultivate the native rice varieties that have been tested at the Lacnog Learning Site, and who will adopt our package of technologies on native rice cultivation.

2.   Improved quality and fertility of soils.

3.   Minimal to no exposure to chemicals and pesticides.

4.   Increased number of households and communities with year-round supply of native rice for subsistence.  

5.   Increased number of seed banks in various communities and a robust seed storage at the Lacnog Learning Site.

6.   Active seed exchanges among communities.

7.   LGU-issued policies on native rice cultivation and increased technical and logistical support for farmers cultivating native rice.

At present there are 4 full-time staff who are implementing the planned activities of the CorDisRDS and CDPC at the farmland in Lacnog, Tabuk City, province of Kalinga, Cordillera region, northern Philippines.A 

Our team is composed of agricultural graduates with diverse specializations.  They have worked with CorDisRDS and CDPC for 7 to 12 years already. After their graduation in college, they have been involved with our partner communities in community organizing, research, conduct of training, and implementation of community-based projects.

 The trainings they conduct are based on the needs of the subsistence farmers. These include trainings on sustainable agriculture (soil management, biofertilizer production, alternative pest management), community-based disaster risk management, project management, and health.  Others are on raising awareness and organizational management that are geared towards strengthening grassroots or people’s organizations.

 Our team members come from different indigenous groups in the region but most belong to the Kalinga tribe. They are children of rice farming families who have experienced from childhood the interconnectedness of rice farming with daily lifeways, culture, indigenous values, and practices.

 Our team likewise is equipped with knowledge on indigenous methods of rice farming as well as acquired knowledge on agricultural techniques from other organizations.  They have experiences on managing systems of rice intensification programs. They also have knowledge on farming methods that are adaptable to the different provinces in the region, which have been tried in some villages together with indigenous women farmers.

Our organization, the Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CorDisRDS), is led by an active 6-member Board of Trustees working as volunteers and consisting mostly of indigenous peoples from the region (we have had non-indigenous members in the past but indigenous members have always outnumbered non-indigenous), 4 out of 6 are women, and the ages of the Board members range from late 40s to early 70s, one of whom identifies as belonging to the LGBTQIA and one has been a person with disability for many years; 3 of these are members of the academe while the rest have been long time members of Civil Society Organizations. One member has been with the Board since the founding of CorDisRDS. The youngest Board member has been with us for 2 years, while the chair has served continuously for 14 years. The diverse Board composition mirrors the management committee of CorDisRDS, with a good balance of women and men in the leadership, although younger (30s to 50s) and mostly belonging to different indigenous groups in the region.

Principles of diversity, equity, and gender (especially women and children) are non-negotiables and have always informed the programs and projects that CorDisRDS has been implementing all these years. Many of our programs have benefitted women and children, as well as the elderly and persons with disabilities.

Solve will provide the needed human and financial resources that our organization needs for a full blown research and innovation of our solution. The amount of $10,000 will go a long way in the implementation of the project. 

The Cordillera region is composed of 6 provinces, and the people are mainly rice farmers. When the solution goes full scale, we plan to cover majority of the rice farming communities which are found in far flung areas. Monitoring and evaluation will be a major challenge, since this requires field visits. Even long distance communication will be a challenge in the absence of internet connections in most areas. Solve might be able to suggest an innovative way to reach these far flung communities perhaps through the development of a monitoring and evaluation offline app.

Ensuring benefits for women farmers is a major goal of our solution and Solve might be able suggest ways of achieving this.

The package of technologies that we plan to develop and innovate on might benefit from the advice and guidance of Solve partners.

There will also be a need to continually train our staff to better systematize our operations, from research and documentation, giving trainings, to managing campaigns, publications, and advocacy work.

We have no specific names of potential partners from MIT or Solve members, but we could benefit from partners who might help us improve our monitoring and evaluation activities, further train our staff on technical matters that make use of both indigenous and scientific knowledge, and develop technologies that will help advance the goals of the solution.

 Locally, we can continue our partnership with MASIPAG or  Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Farmers and Scientists for the Development of Agriculture), a national NGO who gave us 100 seeds of native rice varieties for our 1st cropping through their program collection, identification, maintenance,  multiplication and evaluation of cultivars of rice. We also intend to partner with academic institutions for technical and scientific guidance in support of our intention to innovate a package of technologies around native rice cultivation.

Our solution promotes resilient ecosystems and sustainable communities by pushing for the widespread cultivation of native rice varieties that are ecologically safe and culturally significant to the communities that cultivate them. It is a response to the growing threat from the cultivation of modern high yielding rice varieties that are heavily dependent on chemicals and pesticides, degrading our lands and putting health and wellbeing of indigenous farmers increasingly at risk.

We plan to work with both indigenous knowledge and technology and scientific knowledge to increase our chances of providing a sustainable and evidence-based solution to ensure food and environmental sustainability in our indigenous communities. The GM Prize could help us push forward our researches and innovation along these areas.

As mentioned above, rice farming in the Cordillera is mainly the domain of women, so the success of our solution will benefit mostly women farmers. During harvest, women, specifically women elders, first go to the rice fields to select the good seeds that will be kept in the agamang (community rice granary). Only then can harvesting proceed, which involves men and women. Sowing of seeds, planting of seedlings, cleaning and maintenance until harvesting and threshing, women are  the ones most of the work in the rice fields. Men “open” the rice fields by preparing them for planting and repairing stone walls when necessary, but their roles are limited to these. During the entire cropping period, it is the women who take care of the rice fields while the men are busy looking for other income for the family. This is the reason why many women are members of cooperatives and have put up their own farming organizations in order to protect their interests. The prize will be used to implement the goals of our solution which will directly benefit our indigenous women farmers.

Our solution promotes resilient ecosystems and sustainable communities by pushing for the widespread cultivation of native rice varieties that are ecologically safe and culturally significant to the communities that cultivate them. It is a response to the growing threat from the cultivation of modern high yielding rice varieties that are heavily dependent on chemicals and pesticides, degrading our lands and putting health and wellbeing of indigenous farmers increasingly at risk.

We plan to work with both indigenous knowledge and technology and scientific knowledge to increase our chances of providing a sustainable and evidence-based solution to ensure food and environmental sustainability in our indigenous communities. We believe this approach is innovative and sustainable that will help us solve an increasingly urgent issue of food insecurity and environmental degradation. The GSR Prize could help us advance our researches and innovation along these areas.