Braving the path to innovative rice farming

In our search for success stories of local farmers, we were brought to a field of climate change-ready rice varieties of Mr. Edgar A. Pesebre, a Local Farmer Technician and a partner of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Bicol Station. Mr. Pesebre is one of the local farmers who benefit from using modern farming technologies introduced by PhilRice. The Bicol station of PhilRice is a priority project of Congressman Fernando V. Gonzalez aimed at establishing an institution where local farmers can easily access and learn new farming technologies that would improve their farming system.

Mr. Edgar Pesebre grew up in Balangibang where residents refer to as the "Tungro capital" due to frequent flooding in the area. Aside from flooding, Balangibang also experiences drought which makes rice farming difficult in the area.

Mr. Pesebre grew up in a rice farm at Barangay Balangibang of Polangui, Albay. Local residents refer to their land as "Tungro capital" due to the frequent flooding. They also experience drought in the field which makes it difficult for them to produce high crop yield. Because of these unfavorable weather conditions, heavy work, and minimal returns in rice farming, Mr. Pesebre was hesitant to follow the footsteps of his parents, no matter how his mother tried to persuade him.

After graduating a degree in Business Administration, Mr. Pesebre worked at Toyota Motors Corporation in Quezon City. As a hardworking and dedicated employee, Mr. Pesebre received awards and was later promoted as Senior Service Marketing Supervisor. However, due to his desire to manage his own business, he left the company and went back to his hometown.

Braving the path to rice farming: Mr. Pesebre left his job as marketing supervisor to become a farmer.

Mr. Pesebre engaged in rice production. Because of his active participation in agricultural training programs and activities, he was designated by the Municipal Agriculture Office of Polangui as Farmer-Led Extension in 2003-2008.

To further practice his technical knowledge in rice production, Mr. Pesebre became a Palay seed grower in 2009. He identified rice varieties that will suit the environmental condition of his farm area. He also made varietal trials in submerged farms to test the adaptability of different rice varieties in flooded areas.

Scientific farming

The minimal use of pesticides is one of the benefits of proper crop management. Mr. Pesebre said that due to technology, farmers no longer have to extensively use pesticides.

According to him, the traditional rice farming method evolved into scientific farming. Interventions and innovations were introduced to achieve high yielding crops, resilient rice varieties, and minimize the production loss.

Mr. Pesebre is currently working on a submerged farm technology wherein vegetables are planted in an elevated bed soil surrounded by a fish pond and rice farm.

Research conducted and technologies developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), and Department of Agriculture also played significant roles in the improvement of rice farming.

One of the technologies that Mr. Pesebre applies in his farm is the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). According to IRRI Knowledgebank,

“AWD is a water-saving technology that farmers can apply to reduce their irrigation water use in rice fields without decreasing yield. In AWD, irrigation water is applied a few days after the disappearance of the water. Hence, the field is alternately flooded and non-flooded.”

After attending several trainings on rice production, conducting varietal tests, and partnering with different agricultural agencies Mr. Pesebre knew how to make adjustments in his farm by applying the technologies and technical knowledge he learned.

As of now, Mr. Pesebre manages 16 varieties of rice in 8 hectares of farm land. Of the 16 varieties of rice, eight of them are what he calls the “Next Generation” series. These varieties are climate change-ready which are resilient and adaptable to extreme environmental conditions such as flooding and drought.

The NSIC Rc342 and Rc360 is one of the recent varieties released by PhilRice and one of the so-called “Next Generation” varieties. Local farmers favor this variety because of its aromatic smell and good yield. Based on PhilRice-Bicol data, this variety yields 7.9 tons per hectare.

Mr. Pesebre plants vegetables to maximize the use of available land areas in his farm. He plants okra and chili pepper along the irrigation canal.

According to Mr. Pesebre, in the previous years when rice farming was difficult in Balangibang due to extreme weather conditions, production output was very minimal. Crop yield only reaches to three tons per hectare (3 tons/ha). At present, crop yield reaches to 5-7 tons/ha.

A champion in rice farming

Due to his efforts and innovations in rice farming, the Department of Agriculture hailed him as Regional and National Winner under the Outstanding Local Farmer Technician (LFT) Category during the 2014 Agri Pinoy Rice Achievers' Award.

Mr. Pesebre now manages wide areas of rice farm for the Climate Field School which demonstrate climate change-adaptable rice varieties. PhilRice partners with him and features his rice farm as demo sites for rice production training.

Agricultural agencies such as IRRI and farmers from other parts of the country visit his farm to learn about his techniques and methods on how to properly manage a rice farm.

"Rice self-sufficiency is possible"

The answer to better rice farming, according to Mr. Pesebre, is a good irrigation system. Such infrastructure help farmers transform idle lands to productive farms and provide a sustainable water source for the crops during dry season.

Congressman Fernando V. Gonzalez is prioritizing the establishment of irrigation systems in areas where agriculture remains the primary source of livelihood for residents. He also aims to help communities maximize the use of idle and unproductive lands to improve and modernize farming activities.

In Polangui, 90% of farm lands are now irrigated, according to Mr. Pesebre. This was due to the combined efforts of local farmers, farmers and irrigators association, and financial support from the government, non-government organizations, and agricultural agencies.

With the technologies that have been developed to innovate rice farming, Mr. Pesebre believes that Philippines can be rice self-sufficient. But in order to completely achieve rice self-sufficiency, the country needs to minimize importation of rice and prioritize the marketing of local products, according to him. Local farmers need the support of the government in patronizing local products in the market. In such way, the demand in local production of rice will increase and farmers will be encouraged to increase the production which in turn improves their income generation. albay3d.blogspot.com