CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the related literature and studies which will be used by the

researcher as a guide in conducting their study. The similarities and differences between the

cited studies and the researcher’s proposed study are discussed briefly at the end of the section.

RELATED LITERATION

LOCAL STUDY

According to Edwina Tabamo a agriculturist and holder of a ph. D. in business administration.. Tarlac

is focusing on food food production, especially vegetable to augment the incomer and the nutritional intake of

local families. They implement programs to boost the production of vegetables, especially “pinakbet”. The

leading vegetable producers are Capas, La Paz, Paniqui, Victoria and other towns also produce quantities of

fruits and vegetables from aquacultural, because of landlocked province is predominantly agricultural.

Charisma Love Gado, senior science research specialist at Philippine Rice Research Institute, the rice

sector banks on extension as a pathway in increasing productivity as it can influence rice yield by at least 15

percent. Although Tarlac farmers are into rice production for an average of 20 years, they still know the

techniques comes to rice information.

policies of the government to support their agricultural livelihood.

1.1 Agricultural Science - Crop and Livestock Farming Systems from The University of Western Australia

provides the research, technology and information for the sustainable, profitable and ethical development of the

agricultural industry.

Check your fit with this programmer

World populations and economies are increasing their demands for food and fibre. Agricultural systems are

placed under pressure to meet environmental, social and economic goals.

Farm management specialists have a key function to perform by helping policy makers and extension workers

make sound decisions. Here some of the problems of planning for smallholder farms are outlined. We look

briefly at farm investment appraisal, the use of farm planning in project appraisal and mention the part that farm

planning plays in extension design. Identifying research problems and policy analysis are discussed and, along

the way, some of the common planning tools are described.

1.2 PLANNING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

 Budgeting is a farm management method that estimates costs and returns of alternative actions and enables a

choice to be made by comparing the financial results. Budgeting lies at the core of conventional farm

management analysis. All of the budgeting techniques rely on gross margin analysis as the basic farm

management method used to assess farm enterprise profitability.

 Partial budgeting, as opposed to whole farm budgeting, assesses the potential ‘profitability’ as a result of small

changes in the farm business. It is concerned with evaluating the income from changes in technologies or new

enterprises introduced that affect only a part of the farm business. Programme planning is used to select farm

enterprises while taking into account the resource constraints of the farm.

 Farm investment appraisal is concerned with projecting the income and cost flow over the life of an investment.

Farm investments can be regarded as simple decisions whether or not to buy a capital item that lasts longer

than a single season or year. Examples are irrigation equipment or machinery that is not used up immediately.

The planning decision is long-term. Some investments, depending on their size and complexity can be regarded

as projects. Their financial feasibility require that they are appraised by discounting the future streams of costs

and benefits according to two common indicators: net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR).
2. Agricultural Business. To gain information to the different programs and policies of the government for the

development of their agricultural businesses.

2.1 A Positive Role for Graduate Agribusiness Programs in Agricultural Economics Lynn W. Robbins

 Agribusiness graduate students should do problem-solving and take business courses to understand the

environment in which they will practice their theory. The longer we wait to teach them application, the

greater are the chances of losing our critical mass in terms of relevancy and political support. We can,

and should, cultivate a broader range of agribusiness problems and clientele groups. We can effect

change immediately by doing more agribusiness research. We can assure our long-run existence

through a stronger political support base by educating our graduate students in the ways of firmlevel

agribusiness application.

 Think studying agriculture is just about learning how to plant seeds and shear sheep? Think again!

Agriculture has been at the center of human civilization since, well, since civilization began – and it

remains at the heart of many of the most pressing issues for modern societies.

Poverty, famine, development economics, genetic modification, environmental sustainability, disease

epidemics agriculture intersects with all of these, and agricultural graduates are involved in research and

development work in all these fields.

Read on for an overview of agriculture courses, specializations, key skills and possible agriculture careers.

3. Government.

Extension Programs, Projects and Partnerships

To ensure that farmers and fishers are able to maximize the services designed to uplift their condition, we

continue to explore all areas of collaboration and partnership for its extension initiatives.

Programs

1. ATIng Gulayan ng DA

In line with the DA’s thrust of ensuring food security and poverty alleviation, we aim to showcase urban and

sustainable agriculture technologies through edible landscaping. Setting an ideal demonstration area is our very

own small urban garden at the ATI Central Office in Quezon City which features vegetables and crops

cultivated using organic farming practices.

2. Ladderized Approach to ATI Extension Services

extension service, we support the development of rural farms by certifying them as model sites that

serve as demonstration areas for hands-on learning.

 Level 2: Learning Sites for Practical Agriculture II (LSPA II). We support the further development of

LSPA I farms to the next level. Once qualified, LSPA II farms offer farm business advisory services,

demonstration services, information services and training services, whose owners/operators also become

farmer-trainers cultivating not only attitude, skills and knowledge (ASK) but also wisdom among

farmers and fishers.

 Level 3: Private Extension Service Providers (P-ESPs). We accredit organized institutions to become P-

ESPs that serve as our partners in the provision of extension services to farmers/fishers and their

organizations.

3. Private Extension Service Providers (P-ESPs)

As part of the Extension Accreditation Services component of our ladderized approach to extension, we

encourage individual LSPA I and LPSA II farmer/farm family operators to form an “organization/network of

extension service providers” to enable them to apply for accreditation as our P-ESPs. Considered as full-fledged

extension agencies, P-ESPs are better equipped as our partners in the provision of extension services to

farmers/fishers and their organizations.

This is in compliance with the provisions of Section 91 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the

Republic Act No. 8435 or the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act and per DA Administrative Order

No. 22, Series of 2008.

4. Farm Tourism Sites (FTS)

In line with Republic Act 10816 or the Farm Tourism Act of 2016, we assist our LSPA I and II and P-ESP

farms to meet the requirements of the Department of Tourism for accreditation as FTS.

5. Big Brother-Small Brother Extension Partnership Scheme on Farm Tourism

To boost the farm tourism industry in the country, we encourage LSPA owners and operators as “big brothers”

who adopt small farmers as “small brothers” and capacitate them with ASK and eventually become their

partners in agribusiness.

6. Livelihood for Rural-Based Organizations (RBOs)

support programs for Rural Improvement Clubs, 4-H Clubs, 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association of the

Philippines, Japan Agricultural Exchange Council Alumni Association of the Philippines, Farm Home

Extensionists Association of the Philippines, Pambansang Mannalon, Mag-uuma, Magbabaul, Magsasaka ng

Pilipinas (P4MP), Magsasaka Siyentista (MS), and other professional groups of extension workers.

7. Assessment Center

In partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), we offer assessment

and accreditation services for NC II programs related to agriculture and fisheries through our training centers

that have been accredited as assessment centers, particularly on organic agriculture and animal production.

Partnerships/ Projects

1. Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project

In partnership with the National Irrigation Association, we provide training and technical assistance on

sustainable rice production to members of the Irrigators Association in Autonomous Region in Muslim

Mindanao and Region XII.

2. Better Rice Initiatives in Asia

We provide training on value chains, basic agriculture, rice specific farming techniques and enhanced methods

on training delivery to Agricultural Extension Workers and lead farmers in Iloilo, Aurora and Southern Leyte.

3. Weather Index Based Insurance

Strengthening the capacities of our farmers and farmer associations to increase resilience of agricultural

production, we provide training/ briefings on Farmers' Decision Support System, Good Agricultural Practices,

and Climate-Smart Farmers' School.

4. ASEAN Sectoral Working Group on Agricultural Training and Extension

In contribution to the total development of human capital in the agricultural and fisheries sector, we provide

training and extension on crops, fisheries and livestock, as well as disseminating technologies in various

commodities.

5. Project for Strengthening Capacity Building in Agriculture Sector in ASEAN countries Phase 2 (CB Project

2)
We enhance the capabilities of agriculture-related practitioners and officials in ASEAN member states through

training courses, seminar, and dispatch of Japanese experts funded by the ASEAN- Ministry of Agriculture,

Forestry and Fisheries.

4. Crop yield

the measure of grains or seeds generated from a unit of land expressed as kilograms per hectare. Also

called agricultural output. Crop yield is a measurement of the amount of agricultural production harvested

per unit of land area. Crop yield is the measure most often used for cereal, grain or legumes and is

normally measured in bushels or pounds per acre in the U.S. (metric ton or kilogram per hectare outside

the U.S.). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) produces charts and maps displaying

crop yields, crop weather and crop acreage animations to help U.S. farmers maximize agricultural product

output.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND STRATEGIES FOR CROP DIVERSIFICATION

In order to strengthen the agriculture sector, crop diversification was identified as a strategy in the Medium-

Term Philippine development Plan, 1987-1992. This strategy was pursued to support food security, greater

employment opportunities, increased farm incomes, and reduced dependence on traditional export commodities

which are facing declining demand in the world market (Adriano and Cabezon, 1989).

At the Department of Agriculture, a National Committee on Crop Diversification (NCCD) was created in 1992.

This committee is inter-agency in nature and its main function was planning and implementation of a crop

diversification programme. Four commodity-based plans were prepared which include rice, corn, coconut and

sugar cane. These plans were used in the preparation of the DA's Medium Term Development Plan in the early

1990's (Pecson, 1993).

A number of economic policies to promote crop diversification were formulated by the Philippine government

(Adriano and Cabezon, 1989). In pricing policy, the government reduced the price support for rice with the

view that some farmers will shift to alternative cash crops. Likewise, the government wants to reduce its direct

intervention function in the marketing of rice by relying more on the private sector both to trade (domestic and

international) and to hold stocks.

Tax and tariff policies were adopted to eliminate import quotas and minimize the number of permits required

for importation and lower the average tariff level. Likewise, there was abolition of all export taxes. Gradual

elimination of all subsidies is a national policy. In the agriculture sector, subsidies were gradually eliminated

since pricing of inputs and outputs has already been deregulated.

and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997. From a low 0.2 percent of the GVA allocated for research, there has

been a substantial increase in government allocation for R&D. By the year 2002, R&D investment will be 1

percent of the GVA. A number of development programmes include investment in rural roads, transport and

communications. As a result of these, an efficient price system is created which is a potent promotion for crop

diversification.

Crop diversification in rice and corn areas will proceed favourably due to the implementation of the Agrarian

Reform Programme. This is on the premise that as leaseholders or owner-cultivators, these farmers can decide

what is best for their lands.

Current and Future Government Programmes on Crop Diversification

On agricultural R&D, crop diversification is a component of the Philippine National Agenda for Research and

Development. In crops associated with cropping systems, the following are the concerns:

4.1 Coconut

· Piloting of Coconut-based Farming Systems and Technology.

4.2 Cacao and Coffee

· Assessment of existing crop mix patterns adopted by cacao and coffee farmers.

· Cacao-based and coffee-based vegetables and legumes intercropping system in flat and hilly lands.

· Occurrence and severity of insect pests and diseases as affected by different cropping patterns.

· Nutritional requirements of cacao and coffee as influenced by different cropping systems.

· Economics of intercropping cacao and coffee with other crops in flat and hilly lands.

4.3Rubber

· Alternative legume covers in rubber farms.

· Economics of cover cropping in smallholder rubber farms.

· Rubber cropping system model demonstration farms.

The Philippine Coconut Authority has three major on-going programmes as part of a nationwide programme

entitled “Maunlad na Niyugan Tugon sa Kahirapan”. These are:

 -Model Coconut Farms - the major objective is to improve farm productivity and quality of life of

coconut farmers by increasing their incomes. This programme has a crop diversification component.

-
  Replanting and Fertilization Programme - involves planting and replanting efforts with balanced

fertilization, cover crops and intercrops

 General Farm Assistance/Extension Services - concerned with the strengthening of linkages among

coconut farmers, R&D and extension.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute is currently engaged in database development on rice-based farming

systems which includes cropping patterns and number of adopters on a nationwide scale.

The Department of Agriculture is currently negotiating for World Bank Assistance on the project entitled

“Smallholder Tree Crops Development and Diversification Project”. The project aims to alleviate poverty,

accelerate private investment in agro-industries, conserve and rehabilitate the environment, and contribute

towards agricultural and overall economic growth by increasing long-term output, value added and exports for

which the Philippines has a comparative advantage.

In order to enhance production and productivity the government continuously provides irrigation services to the

farms. In 1997, about 1.34 M hectares were covered by irrigation and drainage facilities. This was

approximately 43 percent of the total potential irrigated areas.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The agriculture sector has been a major player in the Philippine economy. With changing national and global

trends, the sector has identified a number of strategies to be competitive. A strategy that has helped alleviate

poverty and increase productivity is crop diversification. The passage by the Philippine Congress of the

Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act in 1997 is a giant leap towards reaping the previous efforts of both

government and private sectors on crop diversification.

Two perspectives on diversification are presented herein. One is planting alternate crops after the main crop and

the other is planting one or more crops in-between a perennial crop. The emphasis of the former is on rice while

that of the latter is coconut. This is so because crop production areas in the country are mainly devoted to these

two important crops. Furthermore, government resources, over the years, have been largely allocated to these

crops, and such cropping strategies have been documented. There are other cropping patterns practiced in some

areas, e.g., corn-legume and corn-root crops. However, these are not fully documented; hence, these are not

discussed in this paper.

There are a variety of factors that affect the adoption of crop diversification. These are the biotic (soil and kind

of crop), environmental (climate), socio-economic and institutional factors. For emphasis, the socio-economic

and institutional factors were discussed more than the other two.
Four important government policies that directly or indirectly affect crop diversification were presented. These

are, pricing policy, tax and tariff policies, policy on public expenditure, and agrarian reform.

Past, present and future programmes and projects on crop diversification are, likewise, presented. Present and

future programmes largely depend on the active participation of the private sector with the government

providing technical and infrastructure support.

5. Fish pen

The Philippines has around 70 freshwater lakes and impoundments with a total area of 200,000 hectares.

Potential production of fish from these waters is estimated to be 50 thousand metric tons per year or only about

5 percent of the total annual fish production of the country. In 1971, the culture of milkfish (Chanos chanos) in

fishpens was started in Lake Laguna, the largest lake in the Philippines with an area of 900 km2 . The hectarage

of fishpens in the lake estimated to be 3,500 - 4,000 in 1978 produced some 16,000 metric tons of fish or 20

percent of the total m ilkfish production in the country. The fishpen industry in Lake Laguna has an investment

of about P100 million. Cage farming in lakes is of more recent development than the fishpens in the Philippines.

Culture of Tilapia mossambica in floating cages began in 1976. Commercial production of tilapia was reported

to be as high as 10-15 metric tons per cage every six months. Cage culture of T. nilotica and Penaeus monodon

in Lake Laguna has shown much promise. The Milkfish Fishpen Industry Culture of milkfish in pens has the

following distinct advantages: (1) An annual potential yield of about 4,000 kg/ha or over ten times that of the

open water catch; (2) abundance of natural food in the lake which makes supplemental feeding minimal; (3)

areas between pens serve as refuge and breeding grounds of fish; and (4) as a source of livelihood of the

lakeshore populace. Fishpen owners in Lake Laguna are said to derive some P24,863 in annual income while

the caretakers earn P8,085/year. In 1974, a study on the costs and returns of milkfish production in fishpens

showed that the highest average net income of P1,941/ha was obtained from fishpens of 1-5 ha. Fishpens of less

than 1 ha and those of 6-10 ha had.

5.1 Scope and purpose

This case study was prepared as part of an Asian Development Bank (ADB) special evaluation study on small-

scale, freshwater, rural aquaculture development. The study used primary and secondary data and published

information to document the human, social, natural, physical, and financial capital available to households

involved in the production and consumption of freshwater farmed fish and to identify ways in which the poor

can benefit.1 The history, biophysical, socioeconomic, and institutional characteristics of Central Luzon are

described, followed by accounts of the technology and management of tilapia farming, with detailed profiles of

fish farmers and other beneficiaries. Transforming processes are then discussed with respect to markets,
institutions, support services, policy and legal instruments, natural resources management, and environmental

issues.

Methods and Sources 2.

The following methods were used: (i) review of secondary documents; (ii) semistructured interviews with key

informants from government agencies, nongovernment organizations, academic personnel, small- and large-

scale tilapia farmers, input suppliers, and traders; (iii) a survey of 248 households—124 adopters (tilapia

farmers) and an equal number of nonadopters, i.e., small-scale rice farmers; and (iv) triangulation. Survey sites

were selected using the following criteria: (i) existence of tilapia farming in ponds; (ii) being representative of

small-scale operations;2 (iii) stable peace and order conditions that allow unhindered and authorized access; and

(iv) inclusion of agroecological zones that typify irrigated and nonirrigated areas, to account for resource

variations.3 3. Presurvey activities covered site reconnaissance and rapid appraisal, pretesting and revision of

the household survey instrument, preparation of the sampling frame, training of field enumerators, and a survey

dry run and its feedback. The survey took place in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga provinces on 13 July–23 August

2003. The tilapia farmers were selected randomly from a list of tilapia farms in Central Luzon from the Bureau

of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).4 The nonadopters were drawn randomly from the most recent lists

of rice farmers.

6. Waters

Central Luzon contains one major river basin, that of the Pampanga River (9,579 km2 ; annual run-off, more than 10,000

million cubic meters [m3 ]). There are about 40 other significant rivers. Surface waters in the Philippines are broadly

classified as public water supply; recreationalfishery water (including aquaculture). and agriculture, irrigation, livestock

watering, etc.

Note the overlap here with respect to pond farming, if irrigation water is used. Many of the rivers and streams of Central

Luzon dry up or have low flow rates in the dry season. They are not well monitored for water quality and their

classification depends largely upon sporadic and out-of-date measurements. The limited data available9 suggest that

most rivers are "nonpolluted," others "slightly polluted," and 5 "dead," but these data are out of date and probably

optimistic. 7. Central Luzon has no large lakes and only two large reservoirs: the Angat dam in Bulacan and the

Pantabangan dam in Nueva Ecija. The latter irrigates about 94,300 ha of farmlands and the Angat dam, 31,485 ha. The

Candaba swamp, Pampanga (5,040 ha), is an important wetland for fisheries and aquaculture in Central Luzon. Its

annual flooding restricts some of fishpond operations there to one crop per year. The Candaba swamp is also largely

used for rice farming in the dry season.

Tarlac City, Tarlac — A P6.1-billion irrigation project of the Duterte administration is bound to benefit this

home province of former President Benigno S. Aquino III, and promises to boost its agricultural production like

never before.

Last January 12, the project was bid out and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) expects to begin

construction soon with the availability of fund from the national government.

But it may not all be that simple as the losing bidders in this mega-irrigation project in Tarlac are crying foul,

accusing the NIA of allegedly pulling strings to ensure that ITP construction/Guangxi Hydroelectric

Construction Bureau (GHCB) emerged as the only qualified bidder for the project.

Dr. Renato P. Legaspi Sr., managing officer of Green Asia Construction and Development

Corporation/Guangdong Hydropower Engineering Co. Consortium – one of the bidders, in his appeal to NIA

Administrator Peter Laviña said that the January 12 bidding should be declared null and void since there was

only one bidder that qualified.

A licensed Triple A contractor for 36 years, Legaspi’s action came after six other bidders were not able to

participate due to delays in the issuances of their licenses because of the requirements imposed by both the Bids

and Awards Committee (BAC) and the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), and that only ITP

Construction, Inc./GHCB was favorably issued a special license as early as Nov. 24, 2016.

7.1 DECLINING PERFORMANCE OVER THE YEARS – Despite receiving the bulk of major public

investments year after year, the country’s national irrigation systems have always performed below

expectations. This poor performance has been attributed by Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS)

consultants Dr. Cristina David and Dr. Arlene Inocencio to overly optimistic technical and economic

assumptions, inadequate water supply, inappropriate designs, and difficulties in operation and maintenance.

7.2These problems have been documented since the 1980s and are still present over 20 years later.Several

component studies under an evaluation project commissioned by the National Economic and Development

Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the PIDS exposed the large gap

between design assumptions and operational realities, which resulted in the chronic underperformance of

national irrigation systems.

Agriculture has recovered with a high of 5.28 percent growth in the first quarter of 2017 after several quarters of

declines. All subsectors posted output increments with the crops subsector as the major growth driver during the

period. At current prices, gross value of agricultural production amounted to P407.6 billion. This was 8.79

percent higher than the previous year’s record. Production in the crops subsector went up by 8.28 percent during

the reference quarter. It contributed 53.66 percent to the total agricultural production. Outputs in palay and corn

farms increased by 12.38 percent and 23.44 percent, respectively. Production gains were also noted among

sugarcane, banana, pineapple, tobacco, peanut, mongo, cassava, tomato, garlic, onion, eggplant and rubber. At

current prices, the subsector grossed P233.5 billion which was 10.45 percent more than last year’s gross receipts

Number of Farms Decreased by 2.7 Percent in 2002

In 2002, Central Luzon registered 341.5 thousand farms for agriculture use, covering 552.1 thousand hectares.

The region's total agricultural land area comprised 25.6 percent of the region's total land area. Compared with

1991, the number of farms decreased by 2.7 percent from 350.8 thousand farms. Likewise, the total area

decreased by 12.7 percent from 632.5 thousand hectares. As a result, the average farm size slightly decreased

from 1.8 hectares per farm in 1991 to 1.6 hectares per farm in 2002. Generally, the decrease in the number of

agricultural farms could be attributed to the increasing population in the region at an annual growth rate of 3.2

percent. Agricultural lands could have been converted to residential or commercial lands to cope up with

population growth especially in highly urbanized areas like Angeles City and Olongapo City.

About 88.1 percent of the total farms in the region had at most two parcels with an average of 2 parcels per

farm in 2002.

9. Socio Economic Status

III. Policy Research and Advocacy Project Leader: ACLitonjua The project intends to strengthen the link

between research and policymaking, hence intensifying the rice policy advocacy activities of the Institute.

Specifically, the project aims to:

(1) create favorable policy environment for harnessing the applications of rice R&D;

(2) understand the existing and emerging issues surrounding the rice industry from production to utilization;

(3) analyze the supply chain or structure, conduct and performance of selected input markets;

(4) conduct market analysis of selected value-added rice products; and

(5) to formulate and advocate policy actions that will address these issues. Linking Rice Research to Policy and

Action AC Litonjua, FH Bordey, DL Kitongan, and CLB Gado This study serves as an active advocacy arm of
the PhilRice’s socioeconomic and policy researches. A lot of information from these researches is already

available in papers. However, to create a tangible impact to the rice sector, this has to be delivered to its

intended users, like the policymakers. This information can serve as their guide in creating relevant policies,

programs, and projects for the rice sector. Hence, this study was created to strengthen the link between

socioeconomic and policy researches and policymaking. Highlights:

• Updating of the Philippine Rice Industry Primer Series. The data of this publication were updated and

improved. The initial draft is yet to be reviewed. This provides information on the trends and status of the rice

sector.

• Rice Science for Decision-Makers (RS4DM). The article “How can rice trade liberalization affect consumers

and producers?” was published. This policy brief presents results of statistical procedures that estimated the

trade-lib effects. It also provides recommendations to policymakers. This material hopes to help craft decisions

relating to international rice trade and provides information to fellow researchers.

• Seminar proceedings. The proceedings of the seminars “Rice Trade Policies and Rice Security: Future

Directions” and “Palay, Bigas, Kanin: Managing Demand Towards Sufficiency” were readied for ISBN

application.

• Policy Seminar. The seminar “Is rice research and development worth investing in?” was held. This created

an avenue Socio-Economics Division 17 where stakeholders discussed and shed light on the role of rice

Research and Development (R&D) on the PH’s goal of attaining rice security. Several studies have shown the

significant role of rice R&D. Despite these benefits, however, trends show underinvestment in R&D. Results of

related studies need to be reiterated to our policymakers to promote deeper understanding and appreciation of

rice R&D. Hence, this seminar was organized.

The investment in rice R&D is one of the key policies used by the Philippine government to pursue its

rice security objective. According to Flores-Moya, Evenson and Hayami (1978), the history of rice R&D in the

Philippines can be divided into three periods. R&D during the pre-World War II period was based on a

nonsystematic research conducted by scientists of the Bureau of Plant Industry and the University of the

Philippines College of Agriculture (now University of the Philippines Los Baños). The second period (1955-

1960) began with the establishment of the Rice and Corn Production Coordinating Council which launched the

Rice and Corn Research and Production Program, guaranteeing financial support for rice research. Rice

breeding research based on selecting pure lines characterized this period. The third period is marked by the

establishment of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the oldest and largest international agricultural

research institute in 4 Asia (IRRI 2007). IRRI served as the model institute for research centers that make up the

Consultative Group on the International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). In 1966, the major breakthrough in
rice research was the release of IR8, the first inbred rice modern variety (MV) that started the Green Revolution

in the tropics.2 From 1990 to the present, IRRI has bred 47 rice varieties, which was released for commercial

use by the Philippine Seed Board (PSB), later named as the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC).3 Of these

varieties, 29 are for irrigated lowlands, 4 are for rainfed lowlands, 5 are for cool elevated lands, 6 are for saline

prone lowlands, and 3 for upland areas. Four of the varieties released for irrigated lowland are also hybrid

cultivars. Since the 1990s, more than 90% of the rice area harvested in the Philippines has been planted with

inbred MVs.

10. Socio Political

The socio-cultural aspects of organic agriculture (OA) in the nine provinces in the Philippines-Tarlac,

Quezon, Camarines Sur, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bukidnon and Davao was

documented and assessed based on the data gathered from FG, KH and survey. There were 11 focus groups

conducted among the representatives of various OA farming organizations, while there were 37 interviews to

various experts; farmers, technician, traders, representatives of NGOs and LGUs. In the survey, gender

relations, labor dynamic and market systems, perceived attitudes on the social cost and benefits of organic

agriculture to the farmers were determined.

The findings showed that OA in the nine provinces started between 1960 and 1980. It was the known as

natural farming. The active promotion of OA was after the promulgation of Republic Act 10068 or “Organic

Agriculture Act of the Philippines”. It was promoted thru conduct of trainings, meeting, lectures, farm visits and

fora that are centered on the production of organic fertilizers (concoctions), pesticides and vermicompost. The

motivating factor for conversion to OA is mainly for economic, health and environmental reasons.

OA was also found to be a family activity where members are involved from land preparation to marketing. The

farmers make their own fertilizers using a variety of techniques such as composting vermicomposting, bokashi

using microorganisms (IMO, FM) and making connections (folian and liquid fertilizers). There were also some

who practice integrated farming, which involves a combination of crops, vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish and

livestock, and vermicast. Organic products are typically sold farmers’ neighbors, direct buyers, organic farmers’

organization and middlemen. Some products are also sold the local public markets and supermarkets.

The challenges encountered by organic farmers are related to organic farming operations, government

support and organic certification. Though certification is deemed important to farmers for it guarantees that

products are truly organic, they suggest the use of Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) instead of the

institutional certification.
 The findings of the study can be used to craft policies on marketing of organic products. Organic

agriculture is a way of life, and it is means to promote good health, to attain sustainable income for the farmers

and to achieve quality environment.

https://www.philrice.gov.ph/farmers-field-school-benefitted-tarlac-rice-growers/

https://www.mastersportal.com/studies/76739/agricultural-science-crop-and-livestock-farming-systems.html

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3232e.pdf

https://www.topuniversities.com/courses/agriculture-forestry/guide

http://ati.da.gov.ph/ati-main/programs/extension-programs-projects-partnerships

http://www.fao.org/3/x6906e/x6906e0a.htm

https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/evaluation-document/35937/files/farming-tilapia-phi.pdf

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/02/23/p6-1-b-dam-project-to-boost-tarlac-agriculture/

https://www.agriculture.com.ph/2018/02/12/philippine-agriculture-saddled-by-poor-irrigation-systems/

https://psa.gov.ph/content/review-agriculture-sector-central-luzon

https://www.philrice.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/SED-2014.pdf

http://organic.da.gov.ph/index.php/2016-12-06-07-53-57/others/socio-cultural-aspects-of-organic-agriculture