Dr. WILLIAM D.

DAR
President, InangLupa Movement

Paper presented during the PSciJourn National Congress held on 23 July 2016 at BSWM, Quezon City

Poverty, Food Production, & Population Nexus

(2014-2016 projection)

Finite Land & Water Resources

132,275 km2 total degraded lands
affecting 33 M Filipinos
5.2 M ha arable land severely eroded
8.5 M ha arable land moderately eroded
Source: Global Assessment of Land Degradation & Improvement Study

Philippines will be the 57th

most water stressed country in 2040
out of 167 countries

The sector that will bear the effect of water

shortage by 2040 is agriculture
Source: World Resources Institute

Soils are not only hungry

but also thirsty!

Land
degradation

Poverty

Water

is the key issue

Source: ICRISAT

Preliminary Research on Philippine Climate

Projections & Potential Impacts on Agriculture

Projected Changes in Rainfall (2050s)

Source: Manila Observatory, 2016

Agricultural Lands

Farmer-centric Community Watershed:

Entry Point for Improving Sustainable Livelihoods

IGNRM, holistic livelihood approach

Science-based consortium approach

Profitability and sustainability
Empowerment and knowledge sharing
Social inclusion (equity, gender and
youth)

Source: ICRISAT

Community-based Rainwater Harvesting

Groundwater Recharging Structures

Check dams
Percolation tanks
Gabion structures
Grassed waterways
Diversion drains

Masonry check dam

Gabion structure

Earthen check dam

Source: ICRISAT

Status of Philippine Soils

(BSWM Land Degradation Assessment 2013)

Declining fertility of rice growing areas especially in lowland areas

Increasing soil erosion for upland agricultural areas

Rapid conversion of agricultural areas to residential; and other

land types to various land uses

Increasing water pollution that is in turn a major land

degradation concern

Soil Health Assessment:Entry Point

as an

Bhoochetana
Transition to land health
Uses soil health assessment as
an entry point to plan sciencebased interventions that can
lead to tangible benefits for
farmers through convergence
of sustainable technologies for
increasing productivity of farm
households with an effective
integrated watershed
management approach.

Monitor the
outcome

Assess the
symptoms

Treat the
problem

Diagnose
the causes

Source: ICRISAT

Case in India:

Bhoochetana
(Soil Rejuvenation)

is a mission mode project of ICRISAT

that harness science for sustainable
use of natural resources among
farmers and increase rainfed crop
yields by 20%.

Increased crop yield by 20-66%

Covered 3.1M ha and benefitted 4.4M
families
Contributed to rise in agriculture growth:

above 5% annually since 2009

Benefit-cost ratio: 3-14:1
Accrued net benefit in 4 years: $ 240M
Source: ICRISAT

Bhoochetana Achievements
Saved their soils. To avoid
soil erosion, farmers did
contour planting, green
manuring, broad-bed and
furrow planting.

Saved water. Farmers did

conservation furrows and
added to the soil organic
materials, which led to better
conservation of water.

Saved the environment.

Farmers use biocontrol
agents, not pesticides that
pollute the environment.

Saved on fertilizers.
Instead of following blanket
recommendations, farmers
tested their soils for lack of
nutrients.

Saved good seeds. ICRISAT gave farmers

high-yielding and drought-resistant
new/improved varieties of chickpea,
peanut, pearl millet, pigeon pea, and
sweet sorghum.

Source: ICRISAT

Case in the Philippines:

Yamang Lupa Program

is the Philippine adaptation of the Bhoochetana concept.
It has 3 pilot regions 15,767 ha
Quezon (Luzon)
Samar (Visayas)
Zamboanga Sibugay (Mindanao)

Soil Health Cards

473
developed and distributed

Mean Results of Field Demonstration

REGION

4A

Crop
Rice
Tomato
Ampalaya
String bean
Onion

Average Yield (t/ha)

Farmers Practice YLP Demo Farm
4.40
4.62
5.00
8.175
5.75
7.00
7.85
8.36
11.60
25.00

% Difference
4.88
48.20
19.61
6.29
73.22
(as of November 2015)

REGION

Crop

Upland Rice
Lowland Rice
Peanut
Okra
Corn

Average Yield (t/ha)

Farmers Practice YLP Demo Farm
4.40
5.95
7.00
8.75
3.31
6.75
3.05
5.45
3.32
4.60

% Difference

29.95
22.22
68.39
56.47
32.32
(as of November 2015)

Mean Results of Field Demonstration

Crop

REGION

Ampalaya
Peanut
Lowland rice (NSIC 298)
Sweet potato
Sweet corn
Cassava
Squash
Hot pepper
Upland rice
Yellow corn
Watermelon

Average Yield (t/ha)

Farmers
YLP Demo Farm
Practice
5.50
12.70
1.00
2.10
4.50
8.20
4.20
13.30
5.40
10.60
7.50
20.20
8.50
20.10
5.10
11.50
3.20
6.40
2.50
5.50
6.00
11.50

% Difference
79.00
71.00
58.00
104.00
65.00
92.00
81.00
77.00
67.00
75.00
63.00
(as of March 2015)

Narrowing the yield gaps

Rainfed agriculture: a large untapped potential
8

80% of global
agriculture is rainfed
(1.2 B ha)

Observed potential yield

Current farmers
yields are lower by
2-5 folds than the
achievable yields

Yield (t ha

-1

BW1
Rate of growth
71 kg ha-1 y-1

Carrying Capacity
-1
4.8 persons ha

2
Rate of growth

Vast potential of
rainfed agriculture
needs to be
harnessed

Carrying Capacity
-1
27 persons ha

BW4C

20 kg ha-1 y-1

0
1976 1979 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006

2010

Year

Source: ICRISAT

We must empower the

farmer to become a:
Producer

Team player
Scientist/Technologist
Businessman/Entrepreneur
Environmentalist

Agriculture

Production

Big part: INDUSTRY

ASEAN Agri-food
Trade, 2014 ($B)
Country

Exports

Indonesia

38.8

Malaysia

26.2

Philippines

6.7

Thailand

38.4

Vietnam

24.8

From farm to agro-industry

Farm Level

Agro-industry

Increasing
productivity

More food and raw

materials for industry

Diversifying
the base

More products to process

Diversify exports

Value adding

More off-farm and

non-farm jobs

Source: Rolando Dy, UA&P

Agribusiness:

Catalyst to drive regional

economic transformation

Transform & upgrade

agriculture from traditional
farming to a globally
competitive agribusiness sector

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

(2014-2017)

(2018-2021)

(2022-2025)

Focus on rubber,
coconut, mangoes,
coffee, cacao, banana,
palm oil; other high
value crops

Attend to supply chain

gaps

Strengthen agro-processing
& its linkages to production --R&D; strengthen supply
chains, upgrade commodity
clusters; provide access to
technologies, finance;
regulatory & certification
system

Deepen participation in
inclusive Global Value
Chain (GVC)

Present the Philippines

as an agribusiness
regional hub
Source: RM Aldaba, DTI

Most food-secured country in the world

Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2015

nd
2

Singapore
imports nearly all (over 90%)
the food it consumes

th
Vietnam
65

one of the biggest rice

exporters in the world

th
Malaysia
34

nd
Philippines
72

nd
Thailand
52

th
Indonesia
74

imports about 1/3 of its

total rice requirements

one of the biggest rice

exporters in the world

one of the biggest rice

importers in the world

one of the biggest rice

importers in the world

ASEAN alone, it is evident that food self-sufficiency does not necessarily make a
countrys people more food-secure. What counts is that people have the ability to
obtain food, which means prices and incomes are key.

What makes Philippine rice so much more expensive

than its ASEAN neighbors?
Philippine rice policy restricts rice imports by
Facts to Consider:

Thailand

putting imports under the strict control of the NFA

all in the name of pursuing rice self-sufficiency.

Vietnam

Philippines

11M ha (80% irrigated) 7.5M ha (~100% irrigated)

of rice land to feed
of rice land to feed
90M Vietnamese
66M Thais

4.5M ha (69% irrigated)

of rice land to feed
102M Filipinos

Mekong River naturally irrigating their rice areas

and permitting up to three crops a year

Archipelago with no massive

rivers running through it

We must open up rice trade & shift to import tariffs

as our mode of protecting rice farmers!

Agriculture Productivity in the Philippines & Vietnam

Philippines
(MT/ha)

Vietnam
(MT/ha)

Rice

3.9

5.6

Corn

2.9

4.4

Coconut

4.3

9.7

Sugarcane

5.8

6.5

Coffee

0.34

2.5

Cassava

10.9

17.9

Income per hectare

$340/year

$1,063/year

Exports

$4 B/year

$34 B/year

Commodities

FOOD SECURITY is the way forward!

There is no doubt that
we can attain 100% rice
self-sufficiency.

Given if we do it righti.e., use hybrid seeds,

fertilization, irrigation and crop care. For sure,
we can even produce well beyond our needs.

The challenge is not

really producing more
rice but at what cost!

Farm gate cost of domestic palay

Philippines = P14-P15/kg
Thailand = P10/kg
Vietnam = P7/kg

Could we even export rice

without losing money on it,
given international prices?

Its not about productivity alone.

Its about productivity, incomes and
competitiveness.

Diversify Agriculture
by promoting more products
Rice | Corn | Coconut
account for over 80% of farm land
Shifts in program priorities from mono-cropping
to diversification and multiple cropping:

1. Further production intensification and

mechanization in favorable irrigated rice
growing areas to drive down costs.

2. Less productive upland and rainfed lowland

rice farms will be diverted to the growing of
higher value vegetables, fruits, ornamentals
and industrial tree crops like coffee, oil
palm, rubber, cacao and hybrid coconuts.

Build Strong Partnership

between DA and LGUs
DA focuses on national priorities/directions (steering function)
LGUs focus on effective programs and services (rowing function)

DA is accountable to its partners (people and communities) it serves.

Monitoring and evaluation is an institutionalized practice to ensure
adequate feedbacking and immediate action on issues that arise.

DA-LGU partnerships are built on clear understanding,

embodied through partnership agreements such as MOAs.