The country has 10.3 million hectares of arable land with which to produce the food, fiber and other requirements of 95 million people. This means a land availability of only 1,080 square meters for every Filipino.
This very narrow ratio of land to people can only get worse as Congress continues its debate on the reproductive health bill.
The order of business, after finally arriving at a national consensus on family planning and population management, is to halt the conversion of prime, irreplaceable farm lands into settlements, industry and other non-agricultural uses.
Moreover, although the Philippines is relatively more blessed with fresh water than many countries, the handwriting is on the wall: agriculture must increasingly do with less water.
At the same time, agriculture is faced with multifaceted challenges such as low land and labor productivity; high production cost, production and distribution losses; high environmental and market risks to producers; low private sector interest; and degradation of ecological services.
All of these contribute to low income and poverty for farmers, high food costs to consumers, and lack of competitiveness of agricultural products in the world market.
The Philippines has no choice but to further intensify its agriculture and – at the same time – minimize the very substantial impacts of intensive agriculture.
Land productivity could be improved by raising crop yields and raising crop intensity. The total annual harvest area is about 12.4 million has. With a physical area of 10.3 million has., this translates to a cropping intensity of 1.2.
With favorable year-round growing conditions, this cropping intensity could be raised to 2 or even 3.
High cropping intensity would require the development of shorter maturing cultivated varieties; direct seeding/no tillage; multiple, relay and intercropping farms; and effective water control.
However, intensive monocropping and succession cropping of the same crop year in and year out on the same piece of land will raise productivity but will ultimately result in soil fertility problems and build up pests and diseases.
Crop rotation and diversification to high value crops should be promoted to avoid these ecological problems and to enable farmers to take advantage of market opportunities and achieve higher returns.
The necessary agronomic technologies which are highly location and market specific can be systematically developed through the All Philippine Farming Systems R&D Networks built around rice, corn and coconut which account for three-fourths of farm lands and small farmers.
Crop agriculture starts with good seeds. The major improvement objectives include high yield, earlier maturity; adaptation to drought and water logging; tolerance to soil infertility, acidity and salinity; resistance to pests and diseases; and enhanced nutrition value and quality, including storage and shipping traits.
First generation modern biotechnology crops – primarily soybean, corn and cotton – have desirable traits of herbicide tolerance and insect protection. Worldwide, biotech crops are grown in 148 million hectares in 29 countries.
The Philippines has 500,000 has. planted to insect protected Bt corn and herbicide tolerant corn. Economic studies show the higher return-on-investment for Bt corn than the ordinary hybrid, hence the phenomenal 50-fold increase in seven years of biotechnology corn in the Philippines.
The traits of herbicide tolerance and insect protection will remain important, but other important traits are being developed to help increase the yield of crops under various conditions.
At different stages of development in biotechnology are traits such as better pest resistance and weed control. That is, biotech crops with multiple resistance to three or more pests and tolerance to pesticides: eggplants resistant to the fruit and shoot borer; corn resistant to drought; abaca resistant to the bunchy-top virus; and papaya resistant to the ringspot virus.
Also under development are high-yielding crops efficient in using nitrogen or increasing photosynthesis. Quality traits are coming, for example, Golden Rice with provitamin A in the grain and papaya with long-shelf life. ScienceNewsPhilippines
(Dr. Ruben L. Villareal is a former Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Los Banos. He wrote this policy paper in collaboration with National Academy of Science and Technology President Emil Q. Javier and National Scientist Dr. Benito S. Vergara.)
Source: SEARCA
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