Year of publication
1997
Excerpt
The Centre for Research and Information Exchange in Ecologically Sound Agriculture (ILEIA) and the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC) have enunciated a project on farmer-based soil classification (ethnopedology) in the Philippines, in close collaboration with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Manila. Two pilot areas, comprising the administrative units (barangays) of Rajal Centro (1600 ha) and Triala (450 ha), in the broad alluvial plain of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon were used to initiate the process for developing a farmer-based soil and land use classification, and to compare and integrate the results of this work with the results of a classical (sensu science-based) soil survey by BSWM staff.
The project provided the soil and natural resource scientists with a unique experience in working directly with the local communities with particular focus on comparing and integrating classical methodologies of soil survey with local knowledge of soils and their agricultural potential. Farmers clearly related micro-topographic variations within their plots, as related to differences in drainage, soil texture and flooding, to the agricultural potential of the soils. The entire exercise brought forth a methodology which integrates elements of indigenous knowledge with those of the formal scientific survey, the results of which may later be up-scaled to soils of similar agro-ecological zones at the national level. On the whole, this participatory project lay the foundation for the exchange of indigenous knowledge and practices of safe farming through mapping of soil and farm resources.
In view of the uniformity of the study areas, in terms of their biophysical, cultural and socio-economic conditions, it is recommended to expand and test the system for farmer-based soil classification to other, more heterogeneous and agro-ecologically representative regions in the Philippines.
From a land use perspective, the study showed the need for in-depth agro-ecological and economic studies at farm level as well as at a higher level of aggregation, such as the district. Water availability for irrigation during the dry season at Barangay Triala forms an important constraint. During the dry season, the growing of less-water demanding crops than irrigated rice should be stimulated. More efficient water-distribution techniques need to be developed. Human-induced changes in soil properties should be monitored at (farmer's) experimental plots to address the observed decline in production capacity of these intensively cultivated soils, induced by excessive use of acidifying fertilizers. Farmers appeared particularly interested in collaborative, on-farm experiments aimed at assessing the agronomic and economic viability of substituting part of the currently used inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers.
The project provided the soil and natural resource scientists with a unique experience in working directly with the local communities with particular focus on comparing and integrating classical methodologies of soil survey with local knowledge of soils and their agricultural potential. Farmers clearly related micro-topographic variations within their plots, as related to differences in drainage, soil texture and flooding, to the agricultural potential of the soils. The entire exercise brought forth a methodology which integrates elements of indigenous knowledge with those of the formal scientific survey, the results of which may later be up-scaled to soils of similar agro-ecological zones at the national level. On the whole, this participatory project lay the foundation for the exchange of indigenous knowledge and practices of safe farming through mapping of soil and farm resources.
In view of the uniformity of the study areas, in terms of their biophysical, cultural and socio-economic conditions, it is recommended to expand and test the system for farmer-based soil classification to other, more heterogeneous and agro-ecologically representative regions in the Philippines.
From a land use perspective, the study showed the need for in-depth agro-ecological and economic studies at farm level as well as at a higher level of aggregation, such as the district. Water availability for irrigation during the dry season at Barangay Triala forms an important constraint. During the dry season, the growing of less-water demanding crops than irrigated rice should be stimulated. More efficient water-distribution techniques need to be developed. Human-induced changes in soil properties should be monitored at (farmer's) experimental plots to address the observed decline in production capacity of these intensively cultivated soils, induced by excessive use of acidifying fertilizers. Farmers appeared particularly interested in collaborative, on-farm experiments aimed at assessing the agronomic and economic viability of substituting part of the currently used inorganic fertilizers with organic fertilizers.