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Introduction
Ruby is a mother of three who helps her fisherman/farmer husband to grow rice. She first learned about DEVELOPERS by participating in a training in November of 1997. Whereas, before going organic, their field only yielded 10-11 cavans per cropping, it now produces 20. Ruby reports that four farmers on Tabon Island are now growing rice without agro-chemicals, using only compost and herbals. The community now has a total of 8 people's organizations (P.O.'s), including one farmers' P.O. and two fisherfolk P.O.'s. |
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Myrna and her husband, Boy, grow rainfed, lowland rice on 3/4ha(7500 m2) owned by Boy's mother. They own four carabaw, two adults and two juveniles, which they lend out to other farmers. The Damians use the carabaw themselves only for plowing the edges of the field. For the bulk of the field they rent a hand-pushed tiller for one week at the cost of P700 plus gasoline to operate it. The plowing goes much faster with the machine than with the carabaw.
While before going organic they used High Yield Varieties (HYV's), they now use iTRV's. While they try different ones, the varieties they used in the recent season were BI, VM 44-11-1, and 2J. They rotate the varieties in the field so that the same variety is not grown in the same place two seasons in a row. They started growing organically without any transition in the June-September cropping in 1995. While the harvests were small at the beginning, they were never less with organic methods than the 60-70 cavans produced with chemical methods. Since 1995, the yields have overall been increasing each season. The latest harvest was 92 cavans, above the provincial average for rainfed rice, which would be 86 cavans for the same size field (3/4ha). Boy and Myma keep most of the rice for themselves, but they also sell some, give some away to the less fortunate, and sell 8-9 cavans of seed to other farmers.
Soil management
Before 1995, the Damians used chemical fertilizers, finding that they needed more and more eachseason. When they switched to organic,they started composting, but now they just scatter the rice straw from the previous harvest.
Pest management
As for weeds, Myrna and Boy used to spray the chemicals Sofit, Machete, and 2,4-D, but they still had problems with weeds to the extent that they paid workers to pull them. Now the Damians find that, with transplanting rather than direct seeding, they just weed the edges of the field manually and weeds are not a problem. Since 1995, they have not spent any money for weeding labor.
As far as insect pests, Myrna used to hate lady beetles (Coceinellidae), but now she knows they are beneficial and she tells other farmers not to harm them. She used to spray spiders, but now she knows that spiders and wasps are helpful as well in controlling pests. Before going organic, they used to spend over P1,000 per season on pesticides, and they sprayed even when no pests were present. Now they scout the field to monitor pests and beneficials, and spread fresh cacahuate leaves at the edges of the field to keep pests out. Whereas before they used to spray Karate insecticide to control grain-sucking insects, now they practice the Indigenous Knowledge SRI of hanging dead animals such as frogs, rats or chickens at the edges and center of the field at the flowering stage to deter grain-sucking pests. In addition, during the earlier, vegetative stages, Myma and Boy use the "palas pas" method of walking the field before sunrise and knocking insects off the plant when the soil is wet. The insects are unable to climb back up the plants.
Comparison
Before going organic, the Damians used 8-9 cavans of seeds per cropping at a cost of P5OO- 600/cavan for direct seeding. Now that they transplant, they use only 1 1/2cavans of seed, which they grow themselves. More labor is needed now, with the time saved on weeding more than offset by the time now spent on transplanting. They pay now for laborers to help transplant: 3-5 people who work from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. for 1 1/2weeks at P50/day each. Myrna and Boy never have difficulty in finding workers. They also do some of the transplanting themselves. In the "bayanihan" spirit, some of their neighbors help them transplant for free and the Damians in turn help out on the neighbors' farms or give them rice after the harvest.
Overall, the planting-to-harvest expenses are similar to when they used chemicals, but the yields and quality have improved. The rice to tastes better now, and does not need to be washed before cooking. Before, they had to wash it 3-5 times to remove the strong smell of chemicals.
Myrna finds that farming is more interesting now that they are using organic methods. She says, "When all farmers use this method, they can save money, save the environment, eat healthier food, and not get sick."
Myrna was so enthusiastic about DEVELOPERS that she is now a community development worker and trainer for the Foundation. She likes that they show concern for the environment, improve the quality of life for people, and help farmers increase productivity while spending less on farming inputs.
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