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THE PHILIPPINES
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Summary

Information about SRI initially came to the Philippines through several paths. The International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) took an early interest in SRI after Norman Uphoff visited its center in Cavite in 1997. In June 1998 it hosted a national NGO seminar on rice, cosponsored with ILEIA, and CIIFAD supported participation by Justin Rabenandrasana, secretary of Association Tefy Saina in Madagascar, to introduce SRI to NGOs in the Philippines. ILEIA invited Rabenandrasana and Uphoff to provide an article on SRI for its newsletter. The CIIFAD website also provided information on the innovation. In 1999, the Consortium for Development of Southern Mindanao Cooperatives (CDSMC) conducted its first trials in Mindanao that resulted in 4.95. t/ha, a substantial increase from the usual yields of 1.5-2.5 t/ha. Adaptation of SRI concepts to upland rice production were then made by Broader Initiatives for Negros Development (BIND) based in Bacolod City. It conducted trials adapting SRI to upland conditions in Negros between 1999 and 2002, with results for some spacings averaging over 7 t/ha.

After the director of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) in the Department of Agriculture learned about SRI at a conference in Indonesia in 2000, the ATI center in Southern Mindanao undertook trials that averaged over 7 t/ha in 2001 and 12 t/ha in 2002. In 2004, the Cotabato ATI center reported even higher SRI yields. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at Los Baños, however, reported a disappointing yield of only 1.44 t/ha in its 2003 trials followed by a yield of 3 t/ha in 2004. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) trials similarly did not report significant increases with SRI.

Cover of WBI toolkitEngr. Carlos Salazar, at the time a Regional Irrigation Manager in eastern Mindanao for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), undertook experiments on his own farm that resulted in yield of 6.9 tons in 2003, 8.9 t/ha in 2004, and 9.6 in 2005. His adaptations, called "Sustainable System of Irrigated Agriculture" (SSIA), are included in a World Bank Institute instructional video (right). SRI trials in 2005 at Visayas State University’s Farm and Resource Management Institute (FARMI) in Baybay City on the island of Leyte, registered SRI yields of 10.16 vs. non-SRI yields of 3.48 t/ha. PRRM has worked with the NGO Save the Ifugao Rice Terraces Movement (SITMO)  in promoting SRI in the Ifugao Terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with positive results for for several years. Reports of trials by a number of NGOs and government agencies as well as university research by graduate students and faculty at University of the Philippines at Los Baños and other universities are covered in a 2004 report by Roberto Verzola. (Several UPLB master's theses are listed in the articles section below).

In 2002, SRI-Pilipinas, a consortium of farmers' groups, civil society organizations, academics, and government researchers began functioning and initiated an on-line community that continues to expand. A series of national SRI workshops hosted by the Philippine Movement for Rural Reconstruction began in April 2002, with follow-up workshops in March 2003 and March 2004. SRI-Pilipinas subsequently launched a nationwide training program on SRI principles and practices, funded by the Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM). According to Roberto Verzola, the SRI-Pilipinas Network as of 2009 had held 50 trainings in 49 provinces throughout the Philippines which benefited an estimated 1,000 farmers. Between 2010 and mid-2012, SRI-Pilipinas has conducted around 120 trainings nationwide, each training attended by 20-25 farmers (see map below). During 2011-2012, the NGO PASALI, which has been promoting SRI in Mindanao since 2006, was selected to be the Department of Agriculture's service extension provider for SRI in that part of the country.

Progress and Activities

2013 Updates
  • arrow SRI Pilipinas Announces System of Rice Intensification (SRI) Contest

    [April 9, 2013] SRI Pilipinas, the national SRI network in the Philippines, announced its intent to hold a friendly contest for SRI rice farming beginning in June 2013. The competition, which includes categories for high-cost irrigated, low-cost irrigated, and rain-fed plots, will consist of two rounds:

    • Round 1 will be held in the second cropping season of 2013 (June - Nov. 2013). This qualifying round will select the highest-yielding entries from three categories of small-scale SRI trials (in plots of 100-500 m2). The selected entries qualify for the second round.
    • Round 2 (the second and final round) will be held in the next cropping season (the 2014 dry season for irrigated, and the 2014 wet season for rain-fed). This round will select from production-scale SRI trials (in fields of at least 4,000 m2) the five highest-yielding entries in each category, who will be declared the contest winners.

    The top five winners in each category will receive cash prizes ranging from 1,000 to 20,000 pesos (about US$25 - 1,000). Any rice farmer (farm owners, tenants and farm workers) in the Philippines is welcome to join. SRI trainers will have a separate category. (Details are available by contacting the SRI Pilipinas Hotline: 0939-117-8999). Participants will receive free training materials and lessons so that they may follow the recommended SRI principles and practices and avoid practices that would disqualify them from the contest. SRI Pilipinas will hold a free seminar (no hands-on) or training (with hands-on) for at least ten contestants (a partnership counting as one) who request such a service.

  • arrow Cambodian Rice to Be Exported to Philippines - SRI Cited as Contributor to Increased Production

    [April 7, 2013] A recent mb.com.ph article reported that the Philippine government signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) on rice trade with the Kingdom of Cambodia to pave the way for the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice from that country for the next two years. The MOA opens the way for the NFA to import rice from Cambodia through Green Trade, a Cambodian public enterprise. The article further reports that Cambodia’s success in rice farming can be attributed in large part to the Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC), an NGO that has promoted SRI methods since 2000. Between 2002 and 2010, Cambodia’s rice production ballooned from 3.82 million tons to 7.97 million tons. Y.S. Koma, CEDAC's Director, was given the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award last year for his contributions to farming technology in Cambodia. Over 100,000 Cambodian rice farmers are reportedly now using SRI, which dramatically cuts down on the use of agrochemicals.

2011-2012
  • arrow SRI-Pilipinas Begins Mapping Trials of SRI Farmer-Adopters


    [June 25, 2012] Between 2010 and mid-2012, SRI-Pilipinas has conducted around 120 trainings nationwide, each training attended by 20-25 farmers. Usually a training includes a demo SRI trial on a small plot, so most trainings also involve one SRI trial (and therefore one adopter, the farmer who provided the plot where the demo trial is conducted).

  • The interactive map at right, constructed by Roberto Verzola during May 2012, pinpoints resource persons as well as locations of individual trials by farmer-adopters in Luzon and Mindoro who first tried SRI after requesting and receiving the SRI-Pilipinas primer. The map at left shows these locations for the Visayas and Mindanao. (Click on the blue icons for farm names and white icons for trainer locations.) SRI trainers, and the trainings are gradually being added in, so be sure to check for updates in the near future.

  • arrowSRI-Pilipinas Reports on the 2011 Progress by National SRI Training Project

    [January 2012] SRI-Pilipinas' 2011-2012 National SRI Training Project is currently underway throughout the Philippines with the assistance of Oxfam Great Britain. A National Evaluation/Planning Workshop/Conference was held on July 29-31, 2011, at the Department of Agriculture, Quezon City, followed by a smaller meeting was held on November 10-11, 2011, for Mindanao trainers.

    One hundred one-day SRI trainings were planned for 2011-2012. As of January 2012, trainings by 13 trainers in 24 municipalities in 12 provinces had been carried out.

    Through the National SRI Training Project, which also supports research on SRI, SRI-Pilipinas is currently collaborating with researchers and students at the University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, and Western Mindanao State University. Discussions on supporting collaborative SRI research are also underway at Central Luzon State University, Visayas State University and the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.

    Since August 1, 2011, SRI-Pilipinas has distributed, through the operation of its SRI Hotline, more than 600 copies of the SRI Primer. Sixty copies of the SRI video and around 30 copies of an SRI Book were also distributed. As in the previous year, the primers were distributed to farmers who texted their name and address to the SRI Hotline (0939-117-8999); the videos where sent by courier to those farmers who, after receiving the primer or engaging the Hotline in conversation, decided to actually try SRI out in their rice field. The SRI Book is primarily provided to government officials, academics, and other individuals and institutions.

    Of 636 SRI Primers distributed, 41.3% of those who confirmed receipt of the booklet said they will try SRI, and 15.4% actually tried it. The SRI Hotline has proven itself a viable supplementary tool for social marketing among the least privileged. A Bisayan language SRI Hotline is being considered and if successful, other languages may follow.

  • arrow PASALI Advances SRI Extension in Mindanao

    The NGO PASALI, which began promoting SRI in 2006, is now officially partnering with Catholic Relief Services for the extension of SRI trainings in Mindanao, particularly Sultan Kudarat. PASALI's Tagalog-language SRI manual is now online as are two 2010 videos showing weeders technical staff are involved in developing and testing for the NGO's projects (see motorized weeder and 12V battery drive motorized weeder videos).

    According to Shane Pulmano, PASALI has been selected to be the Department of Agriculture's service extension provider for SRI and is awaiting the official seals of this partnership, which should translate into extension of SRI into more areas as well as closer ties with the government agriculture programs. He also noted that the NGO Rural Development Institute of Sultan Kudarat (RDISK), who undertook a 2010 SRI training with PASALI, has recently received Oxfam support for promoting SRI in RDISK's Mindanao projects.

    Additional Mindanao news: A Sun Star article reported that SRI was included in the First Mindanao Organic Farming Congress, held Feb. 19-22, 2012, in Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur.

1998-2010

Reports and Articles

Practical Information

  • 2011. Ang Sistema ng Pagpapalago ng Palay (Sipag-Palay o SRI). SRI-Pilipinas. System of Rice Intensification website. (4p., 1.39MB pdf) [Pilipino language manual used provided by the SRI-Pilipinas network. The 4-page download can be used to reconstruct an 8-page primer. Copies can also be accessed by contacting the SRI-Pilipinas Network as their text hotline (0939-117-8999)]
  • 2009. Ang SRI (System of Rice Intensification). PASALI Philippines Foundation. Issuu.com website. (4p pdf). [Tagalog language SRI manual developed for use in PASALI's programs in Mindanao, Philippines]
  • SRI - Binag-o nga Pagpananum Sang Humay. Kahublagan Sang Panimalay Foundation. System of Rice Intensification website. (2p. trifold brochure, 1.27MB pdf). [Ilonggo language translation of an extension brochure originally prepared by Leyte State University's Farm and Resource Management Institute. Translated by the Kahublagan Sang Panimalay Foundation, Inc., Iloilo, Philippines]
  • More rice with less water through SRI. System of Rice Intensification website. (8p., 143KB pdf) [This SRI manual has been adapted by Dr. Pam Fernandez, University of the Philippines at Los Baños, from materials by Norman Uphoff and and article in ECHO Development Notes no.70 by D. Berkelaar.]
  • SRI - Achieving more with less: A new way of rice cultivation. World Bank website. (8p. pdf) [A multimedia toolkit produced by the World Bank Institute]

National SRI Workshops and Trainings in the Philippines

  • 2009 National Conference-Workshop of SRI Trainers
    Jointly hosted by SRI-Pilipinas, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, and the Agricultural Training Institute with Oxfam-GB funding
    - Sept. 28-30, 2009, Bureau of Soils and Water Management Central Office, Quezon City, and
    - Nov. 20-22, 2009, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) Training Center in Kabacan, Cotabato
  • A training program on SRI was facilitated by the Provincial Government of Kalinga through the Office of the OPAg. Thirty farmers leaders participated in this event held at the Davidson Hotel, Bulanao, Tabuk City on September 20-21, 2007
  • A National SRI Workshop hosted the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) was held in Quezon City on March 19, 2004.
  • A Farmer's Symposium, hosted by the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and co-sponsored by the Philippine Greens, was held March 12, 2003.
  • A National SRI Workshop hosted the Philippines Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) was held in Quezon City (?) during April 2002.

Videos

  • 2013. (April 23). Participatory video on the challenges and benefits of System of Rice Intensification. 6:07 min. Written and directed by people of Barangay Arbismen, Quezon. Produced by International Instutute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). Mary Ann Llanza channel YouTube. (Tagalog with English subtitleds obtained by turning on cc button on the YouTube screen.) [This motivational video from Barangay Arbismen, Guinayangan, Quezon, Philippines, covers implementation and benefits of SRI, which supported by Peace and Equity Foundation.]
  • 2013. (February 22). Modified Organic System of Rice Intensification (MOSRI). 0:34 min. AND the view three weeks later. chedudee channel, YouTube. [Manual transplanting technique without bending the body. Uses 8-12 day old rice seedlings grown in the organic fertilizer-filled micro pots of plastic tray. SAFEGCC (Sustainable Agriculture and Family/-centered Group of Co-Creators), Inc. in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Philippines in cooperation with Christian Rural Development Institute (CRDI), South Korea.]
  • 2013 (February 15). Highly efficient broadcasting of rice seedlings. 0.20 min. chedudee channel, YouTube. [This video is taken in BREAD (Biodynamic-based Rice Eco-intensification and Agri-ecotourism Diversified ) Learning Farm School of Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.]
  • 2012 (September 21). SRI-Philippines 2012. 14:48 min. Produced by Renan Yadao Nibut. Renan Nibut channel, YouTube. [Video about SRI on on a farm in Payas Brgy, San Jose Sur Agoo, La Union, Philippines]
  • 2010 (September 8). Pasali SRI motorized weeder 2010. jeromelosanes channel, YouTube. 1:17 min. [Weeder tested by the NGO PASALI's Technical Center technicians at Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao. It takes 10 hours to manage one hectare with this mechanized weeder compared to 28 days for manual weeder.]
  • 2010 (May 10). PASALI SRI 12V Battery Drive Motorized Weeder. MrJayson1910 channel, YouTube. 1:40 min. [Prototype of a PASALI single row DC battery-drive motorized weeder designed and fabricated by PASALI technical center and machine shop, Brgy. Kanipaan, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines. Basically, it was designed for battery-drive and a solar-charging station as renewable energy source to combat/fight global warming or climate change]
  • 2008. Achieving more with less: SRI - A new way of rice cultivation: Two English language videos together with other resources has been produced by the World Bank Institute as a multimedia toolkit
    1) Overview of SRI - Improving Rice Productivity and Achieving Water Savings. 12. min. [Video intended for policy and decision makers, managers of development projects, and stakeholders involved in agriculture, water resource and irrigation management.]
    2) "How-to" Guide for Farmers and Practitioners. 15 min. [Video based on an application in the Philippines; intended for farmers and practitioners who are interested to see how SRI is applied on the ground.]
  • 2008. Alternative Rice Planting Method Key to Self-Sufficiency: Produced by Alecks P. Pabico. 10:25 min. Daily PCIJ Blog. [Tagalog language video about SRI in the Philippines. Note: scroll down through blog to get to video.]

PowerPoint Presentations

(Notes: Click here to see most of SRI Philippines presentations on slideshare.net. Transcripts are at the bottom of each presentation. There is a "full screen" button at the lower right corner of the presentation to enlarge the presentation. If you have trouble viewing the slideshow, make sure you have Flash installed and JavaScript enabled.)

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