Revitalization of the NIA Farmer Training Center, Bontoc

NIA Farmer Training Center, Bontoc

When we made a preliminary inspection of the processing site in Bontoc, Mountain Province last month, it was apparent that the Farmer Training Center in the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) complex had fallen to the status of storage area for assorted engine parts, wood materials and papers. The electrical wiring had long since disappeared…but it was a solid building with a good roof and it certainly had potential!

The processing machines were trucked into Mountain Province over the Banaue-Bontoc road by our fearless installers from PhilRice and JHT MicroEnterprises. The drive is a white-knuckle ride over a road that clings to the mountain sides; over the edge, it is literally hundreds of feet to the river below.

The delivery truck, with the processing machines, crawls along the Banuae-Bontoc road

The farmers in Mountain Province are coordinated by NIA, with particularly outstanding LGU support in the municipalities of Balig, Natonin and Sadanga. Each municipality’s farmers worked on task despite innumerable breakdowns and electrical brown outs. Housed at the NIA complex during the Operators Training Workshop and processing, the farmers had the opportunity learn the many aspects of the processing in a supportive atmosphere.

Benguet farmers observe processing/ Checking moisture content/ Final winnowing

The official signing of the Memorandum of Agreement concerning the turnover of the machines to the heirloom farmers of the Cordillera was signed at the unveiling in Bontoc on August 25, 2009. Mountain Province Governor Maximo Dalog, Department of Agriculture Regional Director Cesar Rodriguez, NIA Regional Director Abraham Akilit and numerous municipal officials were on hand for the MOA signing and machine turnover. A special award plaque was given to Director Rodriguez by Vicky Garcia of RICE, Inc. for his unwavering support of the project.

Signing the MOA. Seated from left to right, DA Director Rodriguez, MP Governor Dalog and Executive Director of RICE, Inc., Vicky Garcia

By processing their own rice, the farmers are expanding their understanding of the importance of improved farming practices in the field and quality standards for selecting and drying the grain; the result is a quality product for sale or personal use. Each sack of palay (threshed rice) was pre-inspected in the villages for correct variety type, uniform quality of grain and moisture content after drying. The quality of the palay put into the processing machines has a direct connection to the recovery rate of the finished rice. Despite all the brownouts and mechanical breakdowns, it was a successful processing. We look forward to the farmers stepping up to the challenge of using these machines for the basis of a successful cooperative enterprise.

Images from the processing in Mountain Province

 

Custom designed milling machines delivered and installed!

On August 17, 2009, two custom-designed millings machines, a dehuller-grain separator and a micro mill, were donated to the heirloom rice producers in Kalinga province.

New rice dehuller and grain separator

The donation was made possible through the leadership and support of the Philippine Department of Agriculture, its regional director Cesar Rodriquez (DA-CAR-RFU), and in partnership with RICE, Inc. The machines were custom designed by engineers at PhilRice, after extensive consultation with the farmers, to process the larger grained rice varieties that have a courser stalk and tougher hull than modern hybrid varieties.

Training on the operation of the dehuller/grain separator

The new processing equipment replicates the hand pounded quality that is done traditionally with a mortar and pestle. These laborsaving post-harvest machines are part of the effort to support the continued production of these rare varieties of rice.

Demonstrating the adjustments on the rice mill

Kalinga’s Congressman Manuel Agyao donated space in the Congressional Livelihood Center, Bulanao, Tabuk, Kalinga for housing the machines and the processing area.

Congressional Livelihood Center

After the machines were installed, an indepth training on the operation of the machines was given by Isagani Ramirez, agricultural mechanic from PhilRice, and two agri-technicians from the manufacturer, JHT Micro Enterprises. The Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Training Institute (ATI-CAR) supported the operators’ training. Funding support to RICE, Inc. for the design and purchase of the machines was generously given by students from the UNESCO sponsored OB Montessori School, Greenhills, Manila; and through a Panibagong Paraan 2008 award from the Peace and Equity Foundation, Quezon City.

Unveiling activities were sponsored by the Congressional office

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Tremendous Support from the DA Family

Over the past months, Vicky Garcia has been networking with many people within the Department of Agriculture to secure assistance for the Cordillera terrace farmers. Terrace farmers of native rice varieties are now included in the DA sponsored PalayCheck program for yield improvement, as well as trainings on the Natural Farming System sponsored by the DA’s Agriculture Training Institute (ATI).

In a recent meeting on August 09, 2009 in Baguio City with the Director Cesar Rodriguez, Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region-Regional Field Unit (DA-CAR_RFU), Director Rodriguez reiterated his support for the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project.

Meeting with the Department of Agriculture's Regional Director Rodriguez (CAR)

Check out what Director Rodriguez has to say about the Cordillera Heirloom Rice project at our YouTube posting at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOGhZDhuV3o

 

Training of Trainers

Over the last three years, the number of farmers wishing to participate in the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project has grown. In order to help farmers increase and improve their production of heirloom rice, RICE Inc. is working to increase the number of knowledgeable inspectors available to work within their villages.

On June 9-11, 2009, RICE, Inc. conducted a Training of Trainers for quality control inspectors. A total of thirty-one farmer-inspectors and agriculture technicians, most of whom had previously been certified quality control inspectors, participated in this first Training of Trainers. Attending were 19 farmers, 9 agri-technicans and 3 provincial level agriculture officers. Eight municipalities and four provinces, including a full team from Benguet Province!, were represented at the training.

Participants in the ToT workshop

The three-day workshop was made possible by funding from the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project’s partners: RICE Inc, the Agriculture Training Institute–Cordillera Region (ATI-CAR), the National Irrigation Administration (NIA-CAR), and the local government units (LGUs) of the provincial and municipal agriculture offices.

The training module used was based on the 6 “Ps”:
1.    PROJECT BACKGROUND- Inspectors must know the background of the project; the vision/mission and the goals; and how those principles are being carried out.
2.    PRODUCT- Inspectors must understand that the focus on the characteristics of the heirloom rice is based on the findings/research done by the market.
3.    PROCESS- Inspectors must understand the different activities needed to carry out the production of quality product and which activities support and validate the quality control standards..,i.e.-from selection of acceptable seed/variety; harvesting-drying-milling to storage.
4.    PEOPLE- Manpower is as crucial as the product to the success of this project. This project is firmly rooted in the values, skills and knowledge of the farmers. The trainers must understand the role of every stakeholder –farmers, inspectors, LGUs, operators and the cooperatives– that supports the whole engine of the enterprise.
5.    PARTNERS- The project and the stakeholders can not stand alone without collaborating with local government units, agriculture offices on all levels, as well as other agencies that work in tandem with agriculture sectors: PhilRice; ATI-DA-RFU; NIA and BPRE,
6.    PLAN- At the end of the three day seminar, farmers and all stakeholders developed a plan and set a date for follow through on the agreements that are made in order to comply with the quality “P’s”…production, process, partners and the people involved.

Information was presented through power point presentations, pictures taken over the past years of project development, and demonstration teaching.  At the end of each module, participants were required to lead a small workshop.

Participants in action

Vicky Garcia, who developed the training, was the lead facilitator. She was assisted during the demonstration-teaching segment by members of RICE Inc.’s Board of Directors, Debbie Achawon and Angel Opiana, and by Jovy Camso from OPAG.

 

Research on native rice varieties presented at conferences

RICE, Inc. welcomes serious researchers who wish to observe the project. In 2008, three foreign graduate students conducted research around some aspect of native rice varieties. Recently, the results from two of the researchers were presented at conferences in the United Kingdom and France.

Giselle Aris, masters candidate at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University, was invited to present her research at the Green Templeton College Human Welfare Conference on “Globalisation and Human Welfare: Innovations in Sustainable Solutions.” The student conference took place on May 9-10, 2009.

Ms Aris also presented her research at Cambridge University’s Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) International Workshop on May 22, 2009.  The workshop theme was “Fair Trade – A Moral economy? Does Fair Trade change the rules of the economic game?”

Inspecting the harvest in Pasil, Kalinga

Her thesis is entitled Producer Organization: A Market-led Approach to Tackling Poverty in the Rural Philippines.  At the GTC Human Welfare Conference, Giselle received the William Kadetz Memorial Award for Innovation in Human Welfare Research.

Ms Aris has accepted a position with the Navachetana Foundation, a microfinance NGO based in Haveri, a rural town in Karnanataka state, India. Congratulations and best wishes to Giselle as she embarks on new challenges in her chosen career!

Aurelie Durquet , a doctoral candidate at the Museum National d’ Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France presented her research at an International Symposium on “Localizing products: a sustainable approach for natural and cultural diversity in the South,” on June 9-11, 2009 in Paris.

Ms Durquet’s doctoral thesis is entitled: Le riz Tinawon de la province ifugao (Philippines): commercialisation, recompositions sociales et territoriales.

The aim of this international conference was to bring together the scientific communities of both South and North countries across a range of disciplines whose complementary approaches are indispensable to a full comprehension of current issues. The symposium highlighted research and development programs supported by national research agencies, the European Union and other national and international organizations such as the French Global Environment Fund, MAB/UNESCO and the World Wildlife Federation in the areas of biodiversity, agriculture, and sustainable development. The symposium was organized by UNESCO, IRD, CIRAD, and MNHN.

 

Report from Highland Rice Terraces Farmers’ Forum

Approximately 200 high-elevation farmers from across the Cordillera region gathered in Bauko, Mountain Province on May 28, 2009 for a Highland Rice Terraces Farmers Forum. Unfortunately, fog and heavy rain caused the cancellation of Secretary Yap’s appearance at the forum.  The Secretary’s helicopter was unable to land at the hotel due to the weather. A recent helicopter accident with an advance presidential party has made everyone very conscious of the need to respect weather conditions in the mountains.

Even though the Secretary’s presence was greatly missed, the forum proceeded on schedule and was ably facilitated by DA-NIA.

200 farmers attended the forum

Six resolutions were passed by the forum after the farmers discussed the issues and concerns that they are facing. The regional DA representatives will present these resolutions to the Secretary. Vice Mayor Dickus, who accompanied eight farmers from Lubuagan (Kalinga), thought the forum was a success, despite the absence of Secretary Yap. It was the first time that his farmers had had an opportunity to share their concerns with other farmers from across the region.

This first-ever forum –exclusively for farmers in the Cordillera highlands– was attended by rice terrace farmers and farmers who have converted their terraces to the growing of mixed vegetables.

Vicky Garcia was also positive about the results of the meeting. The Department of Agriculture is “starting to recognize the uniqueness of the region’s terrain and realize it is time to balance its support for the farmers. This realization alone is an accomplishment.”

 

Changing the national agriculture policy toward native rice varieties

On May 28, 2009, the Honorable Arthur C. Yap, Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture, will meet with approximately 100 farmers involved in the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project. The “Highland Rice Terraces Farmers Forum” will take place at the Mount Data Lodge, Bauko, Mt. Province.

Welcome sign for Secretary Yap at Mt Data Hotel

The forum’s opening remarks will be given the Honorable Maximo Dalog, Governor, Mt. Province; Engr Abraham Akilit, Regional Manager, National Irrigation Administration (NIA-CAR); and Cesar D. Rodriguez, Regional Executive Director, Department of Agriculture (DA-CAR).

In the morning workshop, farmer representatives from across the Cordillera will consider the issues and problems related to developing their native rice as a high-value crop. During the dialogue session, Secretary Yap will receive a briefing on Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project from RICE, Inc.’s Executive Director Vicky Garcia. Farmer representatives will then outline their issues relating to the native rice which could be addressed with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture.

Through the persistent advocacy of RICE, Inc., and the resolute determination of the terraces farmers, the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project has demonstrated that native rice can be a cash crop that should be supported, not replaced. These efforts have helped change the the national and regional agriculture policy toward native rice varieties. The Department of Agriculture should be commended for now including traditional rice varieties in their new rice initiatives.

 

On site inspection by OCCP

An on-site inspection of the terrace that will be certified as organic for growing native heirloom rice took place May 18-22 in the Cordillera. The inspection and certification process is being done under the auspices of the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) and is coordinated by RICE, Inc. This is the next step in the organic certification process for the four pilot project areas of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project. The office of the National Irrigation Administration-Cordillera Region (NIA-CAR) provided transportation for the inspection team as they traveled through four mountain provinces in the Cordillera. Their continuing support for the project’s organic and sustainable initiative is a testament to NIA-CAR’s concern for the historic terraces and their watershed areas.

First stop was the office of Executive Director Cesar Rodriguez, Department of Agriculture, Cordillera Region (DA-RFU) in Baguio City. Director Rodriguez has extensive experience and a deep understanding of the traditional farming practices of the high-elevation terraces. There was a good discussion with the OCCP team regarding the farmers’ understanding of organic agriculture. Director Rodriguez gave his commitment for continued project support.

Hingyon farmers with inspection team

Site visits and meetings were held in Bauko and Barlig, Mountain Province; Banaue and Hingyon, Ifugao; and Lubuagan and Tabuk, Kalinga. Severe road conditions prevented on-site visits to the villages of Uma, Lubuagan and Balatoc, Pasil, although the inspectors were able to interview Lubuagan farmers in the Poblacion and Dagoy areas. Vice Mayor Dickpus was on hand for the meeting and helped in translating some the agricultural practices to the OCCP inspectors. They were also able to interview Pasil area farmers in Tabuk.

Final courtesy calls were made in Tabuk with the incoming Regional Director for NIA-CAR, Engr John Socalo and at the Provincial Agriculture Office-Kalinga.

Inspection team meets incoming Director of NIA-CAR, Engr John Socalo

The team also looked at the proposed site for the new Kalinga Farmers’ Center, which will house the new processing equipment.

Prospective new home for the Kalinga Farmers' Center

Overall, the comments/recommendations for the entire visit included:
1. There is a need to conduct more soil nutrient analysis.
2. Farmers must start keeping farm practices records. (Accurate records can be incorporated into the next inspectors training);
3. Continuing organic agriculture workshops are needed so that farmers can become more familiar with all aspects of the organic standards;
4. Long-term documentation of production area/yield of participating farmers should be collected.

The eventual organic certification of the rice terraces is part of the on-going effort of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project to build on the traditional sustainable farming practices of the Cordillera. By learning improved sustainable and organic methods, the farmers can increase the productivity of the terraces through improved soil fertility, irrigation management and more efficient post-harvest methods.

 

Project begins organic certification process for pilot areas

The buzz in the market is all about going organic with local products. On May 8, Vicky attended the Luzon Consultation on the Proposed Organic Agriculture Bills at the Agricultural Training Institute, Diliman, Quezon City.  Although this is the policy side of organic certification, it is very important that the issues of small producing farmers be represented.

Why go organic? The heirloom rice of the terraces has historically been grown naturally—without chemical fertilizers or inorganic pesticides. But RICE Inc believes that in order to fully help the farmers develop a quality product for the market, it should also be organically certified!

On January 27, 2009, after two years of gathering information and working out logistics for this initiative, a contract was signed with the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP) to begin the process on a pilot basis. The organic certification application fee, which covers the costs associated with vertifying that the production meets organic statandards, came from the grant that RICE, Inc won during the Panibagong Paraan 2008 grant competition. The Peace and Equity Foundation is the funder of the grant to RICE, Inc.

The pilot areas will cover about 10 hectares of terraces within the three participating provinces, with at least one village per selected municipalities. Through this process, the first groups of traditional rice producers will become certified. The heirloom rice varieties are the Ulikan Red of Lubuagan, Unoy of Pasil, Ginulot of Mt Province and Tinawon of Ifugao.

The documentation process is very comprehensive, but considering all the information we have gathered from farmers in the field and at workshops, we passed the OCCP documentation review with flying colors. Examples of the information included the selection of quality seeds, documentation of the traditional farming system, location of farmers and size of area/plot, yield projection per harvest basis and the farming calendar.

OCCP will contract with an independent inspector to visit the pilot areas and audit the farmer activities from land preparation to harvest to processing. Those first inspections will begin on May 18, 2009 in Mountain Province.

OCCP is very excited about the inclusion of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project into the certification process. Ms Leilani Limpin, Board Secretary and OCCP Coordinator, said that the heirloom rice will be the first official application from the CAR region. Coffee and other high value crops are still in the application planning phase. She commented that RICE Inc is very serious about providing the best market for the heirloom rice, not only internationally but also locally. They recognize that it is also very important to create a following for this rice in the country of origin!

 

From landslides and treacherous roads to a workshop on participatory project management analysis

Next stop for Vicky was PhilRice and a workshop on Participatory Impact Pathway Analysis (PIPA). The 3-day workshop was sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with IRRI-PhilRice. It was attended by over 40 stakeholders from across the country who have been working to bring change within the agricultural sector.

NGO team at work

The workshop was centered around a new ABD funded project to bring self-sufficiency in rice production to the Philippines by 2013 by reducing pre- and post-harvest losses through the use of improved technologies. Vicky was asked to join this new “learning alliance”, which uses collaboration and networking across different sectors of society in order to identify new approaches and solutions to achieve project goals.

Workshop participants

Vicky with members of the new alliance team

RICE, Inc. has a lot offer in the area of collaborative networking as it has worked hard to develop cross sector support for the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project. Recently, RICE, Inc held its own evaluation and planning workshop, which brought together farmers, government officials and other interested participants in a facilitated seminar on how to move the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project forward.

All participants in the workshop are committed to the vision of using the learning alliance (the new stakeholders group) to support each other. Vicky instantly used this new alliance during her next meeting with the engineers at PhilRice, as they discussed how to support the farmers as they develop their post-harvest processing capabilities.