ALTERNATIVES TO DESTRUCTIVE CORN FARMING

Our previous feature on the destructive corn farming in Northern Iloilo elicited some reactions one of which asked us what alternatives can be done and what regulations can be formulated. Firstly, there should be pro-action in this because this is both an economic and political problem.

Farmers planting corn in Northern Iloilo were first encouraged by the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Office VI (DA-RFU-6) under its massive corn program in the late 1990s, according to Mrs. Almi Villamera, Provincial Corn Coordinator. The main purpose was to meet the requirements of feed corn by the livestock industry. Even at that time, Panay livestock farmers particularly those involved in hogs and broilers were already hard-pressed to find reliable sources of yellow corn which often comprises as much as 40% of their animals' diet.

Trial plantings in Northern Iloilo proved profitable and this grew into a multi- million industry with traders and some politicians joining the band wagon of both production and trading. The financial and marketing arrangement was two-way beneficial for both trader/financier and the farmers. The latter provided land and labor while the former provided the inputs and guaranteed the market. The wife of one politician in Northern Iloilo even became the national corn farmer of the year a few years back.

Everything seemed fine for the market-driven industry with not one agency of government giving attention to the massive expansion which now encroached to the critical slope areas of Northern Iloilo. Even the Provincial Agriculture Office did not insist on regulating this massive planting since the first line of operation lodged on the Municipal Agriculture Offices of the municipalities affected.

Slope farming should not be destructive to the environment however. There are now available technologies that will mitigate the effects of removing vegetation for the purpose of planting corn. SALT or Sloping Agricultural Land Technology developed by the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center in Bansalan, Davao del Sur focuses on building contour lines on the slope and planting nitrogen fixing trees like ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala spp.), madre de cacao (Gliricidia sepium), libas (Spondias pinnata (Linn. f.) Kurz. ) and legume shrubs like rhinzoni, flemengia and cadios (cajanus cajan) and malunggay (Moringa oleifera).

A similar technology called Alley Cropping had been developed in the Americas where equidistant bands of leguminous species are planted leaving spaces for commercial crops like corn and dry land rice. Like the SALT, alley cropping focuses on preserving the land from being eroded due to the bands that help control the down flow of the soil from higher ground. The bands of legumes serve both as soil control and sources of green manure at the same time.

Legumes have the ability to fix or access Nitrogen from the air through the symbiotic relationship with the nitrogen fixing bacteria that lives in their root system. The bacteria using phosphates absorbed by the roots of the trees absorb Nitrogen and convert this element into nitrates. When the bacteria die off, the nitrates become available to the plant which then utilize this for growth. Farmers can make use of the nitrates as fertilizer for their crops by harvesting the leaves and soft stems and decompose them either through compost-making or by simple burying near the base of the plants they want to fertilize.

The No-Till Farming Technology or Zero Tillage Technology is another option for corn farmers. This technology focuses on the drilling corn seeds in a vegetation covered land. Weeds are controlled so that it doesn't compete with corn for much needed fertilizers and sunlight. Chemicals herbicides like paraquat and glyphosates are used to killo the weeds and the dead organic matter is left on the spaces between the rows which help control erosion by softening the impact of rainwater and retard the down flow of wet soil that could have been washed down the slope. But these herbicides also create a negative impact on the environment as they may pollute the streams directly below the slopes.

Organic farming modifications of the No Till Farming technology calls for the use of leguminous vegetation to completely cover the planting area and where the corn seeds may be drilled. This has many advantages aside from the lower cost of production as a result of not plowing the land anymore. Some farmers advocating this technology, rely on the use of leguminous ground cover which not only holds the soil but also helps maintain fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air. Some of the species used are the creeping peanut (Arachis pintoi), legume vines like centrosema (Centrosema pubescens), red or velvet bean (mucuna pruriens), tropical kudzu (Calopogonium mucoides).

In the organic No Till Farming Technology, weeds are suppressed with the use of mechanical equipment or by simple rollers drawn by a small tractor or by the carabao. The leguminous plants buried are immediately decomposed by the action of burying and by micro organisms present in the soil. If the farmer had been practicing this technology for a long time, it can be possible that earthworms may have already re-established and will be helping re-fertilize the soil by their castings or manure. A well managed leguminous ground cover can fix about 50 to 100 kilograms of pure nitrogen from the air annually and farmers can save as much as 50% fertilizer requirement.

Still another option is inter-cropping of various other crops if only to provide ground cover for the spaces between the corn crop. In the training sites of the Farmer Scientists Training Program (FSTP) of the province, farmers engage hands-on training in corn-based intercropping where initial results have shown promise. Mrs. Villamera said that the results of the corn-peanut inter-crop trials showed that yields of both corn and peanut were higher than the average. Peanuts being a legume needs only Phosphorus as it can fix its own nitrogen requirement from the air. Corn may have benefited from the inter-relationship of the inter-cropping strategy. She further said that the corn-sweet potato intercrop trials are not yet concluded since sweet potato has a longer growing period.

No till corn farming and inter-cropping have not yet been widely adopted in Iloilo. Recently retired Crop Division Head, Reynaldo Osano once stated that these technologies are still being tested and taught to Iloilo farmers. He has apprehensions however as to their acceptability and adoption since they may be cost intensive at the start. Besides, farmers have the tendency to be suspicious of newly introduced technologies since there is doubt as to the chances of success as well as to their sustainability. Mrs. Villamera added that the adoption of the successful trials on integrated farming still hinges on affordability, capability of farmers to adopt and sustain and most importantly, attitude for change for the better.

There are alternatives to mono-crop corn farming and they had been proven successful in other areas of the globe and this country. It is unfortunate that when the Department of Agriculture advocated for massive corn planting, they did not set boundaries or restrictions in terms of land usage and terrain. For the technicians of this department, there was only a single-minded purpose which is to produce corn for the other end user, the livestock farmers. In the process, we have destroyed our forested slopes and made them prone to erosion and landslide, a grave and present environmental danger. We should regulate corn planting in slopes NOW!

SALT: AN ALTERNATIVE TO DESTRUCTIVE SLOPE FARMING

On his recent visit to Northern Iloilo, Engr. Salvador Alipe of the Engineering Division of the Provincial Agriculture Office said that the damage to the slopes planted to corn for several years now may be irreversible. During that visit, large portions of the road leading to Brgy. Langka in Batad were covered with mud and silt that came from the slopes above the road. Landslides are now a regular occurrence mainly due to the lack of live trees and bushes to hold the soil. Corn which is the main crop of farmers in the area was the main reason why they cleared the slopes of trees.

Initially, the yields of the corn crops were high because years of secondary forest growth built the rich top soil. After a few years though, fertility declined but the yields were sustained due to the heavy application of chemical fertilizers. The initial culture method was traditional, meaning, the land is first plowed then corn is planted on the furrows. Many farmers did not also practice contour plowing and row-making, rather, they made their rows straight from the top to bottom and this even sped up soil down flow or erosion.

In recent years, chemical companies introduced and advocated the ZERO TILLAGE TECHNOLOGY where the slopes are no longer plowed but sprayed with glyphosate herbicide. This chemical was effective and reduced the labor cost of corn production but wanton use also created another problem- chemical contamination of the streams and water systems from the mountains down to sea. While glyphosate is said to be safe to mammals, its negative impact on the environment had been substantial. Studies in various parts of the globe established the destruction of aquatic ecosystems because glyphosate also killed aquatic flora when the chemical leached from the farms and flowed into the streams.

But the LGUs and the farmers have alternatives if they decide to act now and gradually transform to a more sustainable farming system for the slopes. As explained in last week's issue, these alternatives can be adopted and will help mitigate erosion and chemical contamination. We will now discuss the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology or SALT.

SALT was developed by the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center, a not for profit organization based in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. The center is located in the mountainous area along the national highway going to North Cotabato. In the late 1970s, the center's management led by missionary Rev. Harold Watson observed that the farmers in the area were poor and that their sloping land had already deteriorated where yields were low. These farmers were barely able to feed their families and send their children to school. They also planted corn and other short term crops because this is what they knew and had no other alternatives.

The center's primary mission was to establish a church but in the process, they had to engage in farming not only to feed the employees but also to generate models that may help the community improve their economic status. Since the whole area was mountainous and hilly they had to evolve farming models to suit the environment. They studied not only the farming methods of farmers around but also their economic status and they concluded that their farming system not only makes them poorer but is taking a serious toll on the environment. Where corn and upland rice farming had been intensive, many of the farms had already been abandoned due to exhaustion of soil nutrients and the land cannot anymore support a good crop of rice or corn. In some areas, land had eroded and had minor landslides.

While in previous generations, the original settlers and natives had the opportunity to allow the land to rest or fallow by shifting to other areas when land had become barren, the inflow of settlers prevented these farmers to open fresh land to cultivation. They had no option but to continue tilling the land they have occupied.

The MBRLC mission at Kinuskusan had to study and develop the best possible farming practices given the consideration that the farmers cannot anymore go to other areas to farm but have to maintain both fertility and productivity of their land. The farming system to be developed has also to consider the long term effects on the environment. Borrowing concepts from various parts of the globe, the missionaries developed what they called SALT or Sloping Agricultural Land Technology.

SALT revolves around the concept of conservation farming where land is farmed but sustainability and environmental protection are also as important. It calls for establishment of an apex or crown crop of permanent cover or trees, not only to provide cover at the mountain or hill top but also to hold the soil which is often the worst affected. Contour lines are developed to serve both as soil erosion control and to be planted with leguminous trees and bushes whose leaves are regularly harvested for animals and as green mulch which when decomposed will also serve as fertilizer for the crop planted between the contour lines.

Short term or cash crops are planted between the contour lines. These provide immediate income for the farmers. However, planning of the crops should also be made. Grassy crops like corn and rice which are fertilizer-hungry are rotated with leguminous crops like munggo and soybeans which also produce nitrogen due to the action of the rhizobium bacteria which can fix nitrogen gas from the air.

Some bands are planted with long term crops like cacao, coffee, rubber and fruit trees. These long term crops provide both income and better soil holding capability that further protects the land from erosion and landslides. Cacao and coffee are also crops that can be further processed and sold as finished products with added value for the farmers and their families.

The MBRLC had also developed other models, all revolving around conservation farming. In SALT 2, livestock can be simultaneously raised which are fed from the contour lines planted to edible legumes. At the MBRLC, they raise dairy goats which are mainly improved strains of Anglo Nubian and Saanen which are also milked for both added nutrition and income for the farmer and his family. SALT 3 model revolves around a mainly agro-forestry concept where fruits and other tree species are planted to preser4ve the land better.

In terms of economic returns, SALT models provide long term better sustainability and income for the farmer and his family. At present costs, a SALT farm may cost 200% more to establish than a purely cash crop farm but in the long run, the income derived from SALT far exceeds that of a cash crop farm. Those who have embraced the models in the neighborhood of the MBRLC have now attested to the feasibility and productivity of their SALT farms. Some who have established high value fruits in their SALT farms now literally sit back, relax and reap regular incomes from fruits like durian, rambutan and lanzones or from the regular harvesting of their rubber, cacao and coffee crops. One farmer who was featured in a national agricultural magazine claimed that his 2 hectares SALT farm earns him an average of P300,000.00 yearly from his mixed crop of fruits and industrial crops, aside from the cash crops which gives him regular income and food. (Further reading and illustration credits: http://pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/cin/AFIN/technologies%20-%20salt1.htm).

Changing the farming system in Northern Iloilo from pure corn farming to a more sustainable farming system will be hard work for development workers. While trainings can easily be conducted, the shift is not only financial but political as well. One needs to invest in developing contour lines and planting these to leguminous species like ipil-ipil, madre de cacao and bushes like flemingia, rhinzonii, cadios, etc. The farmers may find it hard to find financiers to fund the shift.

There is also the reality of corn trading being controlled by powerful individuals some of them even political leaders in the area. Thus, there is some pressure when farmers want to shift as this means reduced production of corn, the main trading commodity.

The much abused words: “political will” have to come into account in this case. There has to be a policy shift where corn farming on slopes have to be regulated. The LGUs in Northern Iloilo need to act now before the slopes in their jurisdiction will have become barren and eroded.