Philippines - Achievements

Achievements

Key indicators and performance for 2007-08

Indicator: New project investments aiming to increase income generation from aquaculture designed and implemented

Performance: A program of new projects has been implemented covering marine shellfish culture (important source of income for poor fishing families in coastal areas), sea ranching and restocking of sea cucumbers, and the potential for backyard hatcheries to profitably produce marine finfish fingerlings to meet emerging strong demand from farmers. All have a strong livelihood, income-generation focus.

Indicator: Scoping study on critical policy/regulatory constraints to technology adoption completed and published

Performance: Report has been finalised and published and two follow-up activities developed as part of the new horticulture agribusiness program.

Indicator: Strategy for future investment in communitybased resource management/agribusiness programs developed and implemented

Performance: Strategy for agribusiness investments in the agreed sectors of horticulture and aquaculture/mariculture developed and agreed with Philippines counterparts and a major horticulture program designed and implemented. Limited budget resources led to uncertainty about the scope of future community natural resource management (NRM) programs, so this strategy development was deferred.

Indicator: At least two major vegetable supply chains analysed and improvements identified and communicated

Performance: A number of southern Philippines vegetable supply chains were analysed including tomatoes, brassicas and leafy vegetables. Potential improvements to these chains were communicated to a range of stakeholders including a major NGO and a growers’ co-operative. The results of this work have also now been incorporated into the major new Vegetable Value Chains program.

Indicator: 40 per cent of new projects to have significant farmer or policymaker impacts within five years of completion

Performance: The two major programs (fruit and vegetable agribusiness) developed during 2007–08 are designed to have significant economic impacts within five years of completion.

Achievements from the 2007-08 Annual Report

Subprogram 1: Increasing the market competitiveness of the Philippines’ agricultural products

A: Better systems and policies for meeting market specifications

The El Niño Southern Oscillation event of 2006–07 had a significant impact in the Philippines and Australia. Although much is known in the climate science community about the onset and impacts of ENSO events, work was needed to bridge the gap between the knowledge in the scientific community and the application of this knowledge in decision-making. The scientists looked at the use and potential value of seasonal climate forecasts in the following case studies: corn farm-level studies in Leyte, Isabela and Bohol, a rice farm and household level study in Nueva Ecija, and a general rice policy case study in the Philippines. Other studies took place in Australia. From these case studies the researchers have started to draw together information on the potential value of seasonal climate forecasts. They are encouraged that a number of communication tools and frameworks developed in the project are already in use by groups in the Philippines and Australia.

A project to improve the economic efficiency and policy environment of the Philippines Tree Nursery Sector has examined respective roles and effectiveness of the private and public sector in the tree nursery sector. A policy assessment model has been developed to identify appropriate intervention points for the nursery sector at both the local and national levels. An economic evaluation of the private sector nurseries has commenced. Training nursery operators to enhance their skills in seedling production and improve their knowledge about the importance of seedling quality is underway. A Memorandum of Agreement on the regulation of seed quality has been signed with four collaborating pilot municipalities in Leyte. The work has been reinforced with the drafting of the nursery accreditation and certification procedure with certified nurseries expected to attract more sales and higher prices.

As higher temperatures associated with climate change affect rice quality around the world, researchers in the Philippines are developing DNA markers to produce more heat-tolerant varieties and stop rice grain turning to ‘chalk’, a defect resulting in rice breaking or powdering during milling. With rice the dominant staple in Asia and accounting for more than 40 per cent of the calorie consumption of most Asians, quality and yield losses to rice growers is a major food security issue. With a rise of just 2oC sufficient to trigger the trait, researchers noted a 4oC increase could ruin entire crops. A team at the International Rice Research Institute has redefined chalk’s underlying causes and is using ACIAR funds to map newly discovered genetic variation for chalk traits onto discrete regions of the rice genome. The DNA marker can then be developed to facilitate selective breeding efforts that could deliver rice varieties less prone to chalk at high temperature.

B: Higher returns from horticultural products

The Philippines is the world’s sixth largest mango-producing country, and its industry relies on maintaining access to export markets. However, developed economies are increasingly introducing more stringent standards for domestic consumption, and there is a greater focus on compliance with pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by each country and at the international level by the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues. Since MRLs can vary between countries, compliance in the exporting country does not guarantee international compliance, and such disparities can result in inadvertent breaches that could lead to loss of market access. A study designed to benefit the Philippines’ export industries has analysed the country’s mango export chain to learn how current practices may be constraining effective residue risk management. It has also determined the capacity of the local industry to respond to the challenges of increasing scrutiny and regulatory change, outlined a potential framework to meet these challenges, and identified avenues of future research.

A project to improve strategies for managing postharvest fungal diseases of subtropical and tropical fruits studied how plant defence mechanisms inhibit extensive invasion of fungi during fruit development. Researchers tested treatments and worked with farmers to enhance resistance and thus suppress disease development on mangoes during production and marketing. The team tested activators that were known resistance-inducing agents, including acibenzolar-S-methyl (Bion®) and elicitors derived from fungal pathogens (in banana). In field trials, Bion® was a consistently effective activator of resistance to anthracnose disease, when applied as a foliar spray or as a soil drench three to five times throughout the fruiting period. There is clearly potential for reducing the number of fungicides applied in a given season if Bion® is applied. Some information is available immediately to industry and has been communicated via workshops and field days.

C: Competitive and sustainable aquaculture production

A 19-day aquaculture workshop taught participants the principles of induced spawning of grouper using hormones. They also had the opportunity to carry out handson practices. The groupers spawned and although the fertilisation rate was lower than normal, participants still collected eggs and observed the development. Work on the grouper was augmented with milkfish eggs, from which they learned how to differentiate good eggs from bad and calculate fertilisation and hatching rates. They also carried out live food production from starter to mass production of live feeds, studied nursery management of grouper, and visited sites to observe occurrence of diseases in ponds and the workings of several multispecies hatcheries. In addition to this hands-on knowledge and experience, the participants gained knowledge of marine finfish aquaculture in the region through presentations by technical experts from Indonesia, Thailand and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in the Asia–Pacific region.

A study of integrated fisheries resource management in the Rinconada Lakes has been hampered by a sequence of significant natural disasters, the latest being floods that lasted for 30 days in February–March 2008. As a consequence the project objectives and scheduling of work tasks have been reassessed twice. Project work continues in stocking density trials and feeding experiments (including plankton sampling as an indicator of natural ‘wild’ food availability). Tests of water quality determined that it deteriorated significantly in Lakes Buhi and Bato during the summer months, with low levels of dissolved oxygen in surface and bottom waters the most likely cause of observed fish kills. Substantial progress was made on the water hyacinth composting objective with the design of a hyacinth chopper and conveyor system. However, the location and timing of the water hyacinth composting trials is being reviewed following the flushing of water hyacinth from the lakes by flooding in March 2008.

Subprogram 2: Farmer-based land and water resource management for profitable and sustainable agriculture

Work on groundwater management has focused on two pilot sites within neighbouring municipalities of Ilocos Norte province, on the north-western tip of Luzon. At these two sites, work involves construction and calibration of groundwater models and scenario testing using these models. A techno-demo farm on water management aspects for garlic production has been established at both sites, and farmer-cooperators have learnt how to monitor soil moisture in the root zone during the cropping period. They recorded soil tensiometer readings on a daily basis, and static and pump water levels at every irrigation application. In the modelling exercise, the scenarios they simulated include the possibility of increasing the areas for garlic production during dry season cropping - assuming the current level of recharge in both basins continues. The possible effect of reduced rainfall due to drought and/or a dry spell (usually associated with El Niño phenomenon) was also studied. In the process, the number of wells and the possible expansion areas were determined so that future groundwater extraction will not exceed the rate of recharge.

In a project to minimise agricultural pollution and thus enhance water quality in Laguna de Bay (as well as in the Mt Lofty Ranges in Australia) the team has installed auto-samplers and water loggers to monitor quality at different sites. Philippines staff members have been trained to operate auto-samplers, including their re-setting, maintenance and trouble-shooting, and also to download data from the water level loggers. This has led to training for volunteers to collect and store the water samples prior to processing in the laboratory. Problems encountered include high levels of suspended sediment from upstream bridge construction, pesticides and phosphates (possibly arising from detergents where residents wash their laundry in the river) and piggery waste. The effect of selected pesticides on the growth of duckweed was evaluated across a range of concentrations.

Better herbicide use strategies and weed management options are needed in both the Philippines’ and Australian cropping. A project has worked directly with more than 40 farmer cooperators to deliver new weed and crop management practices that have significantly improved farm production and farmer returns in the short term. Adoption of the practices has been high among this group and there are encouraging signs of farmer-to-farmer transfer resulting in further adoption. The project has delivered significant outcomes for all partners: Australians have had the opportunity to study mechanisms of herbicide resistance, while PhilRice capacity in herbicide use and weed management is now stronger.

The community agricultural technology program continues to familiarise farming communities with ACIAR-generated and new technologies and assist Philippines researchers to work with NGOs and community-based organisations. Eight groups are active across a range of project activities including cattle and pig fattening and forage management, goat health management, mud crab and grouper aquaculture. A large range of changes in farmers’ production/management practices have been made as a result of the program and a key achievement has been the empowerment of the local community to take up new technologies and generate ideas to apply the technologies to solve agricultural production problems and increase their income. The Program has close links with the successful Landcare project which brings together groups of farmers, villagers and extension specialists and provides them with the training and tools to help them manage their farms and some of the problems threatening the health of their land.

Subprogram 3: Addressing regulatory, policy and technical constraints to the adoption of research outputs

The Landcare project has now been extended a further two years with AusAID cofunding. The focus has broadened into three regions: northern Mindanao, southern Mindanao and the Visayas, with an enhanced commercial and economic growth focus. Project partners are strengthening the Landcare Foundation Philippines Inc. to become the institution to provide in-country leadership and coordinate future growth and sustainability of Landcare, which continues to gain farmer participation across the country and more connections with NGOs. The Landcare project will profit from cross-linkages with a new large ACIAR project on horticulture value chains.

A project targeting increasing the financial returns to smallholder tree farmers in Leyte in the Philippines has continued work to generate supplementary income via better market access, agroforesty systems and knowledge of prices for smallholders and community forestry practitioners. Researchers have been active in disseminating outputs from the first two years of the project. A School-on-Air radio program on tree farming policies was presented and a CD version subsequently prepared and distributed. Extension materials (including a primer on tree registration) on harvesting approval and log transport, a booklet on tree growing, and a manual on tree nursery establishment were widely distributed. Various training activities were also undertaken, including those involving 80 farmers in Claveria and Misamis Oriental, and the presentation of project-related research outputs were also made in two important national forums: the National Agroforestry Congress and National Forestry Education Conference. The project team also organised the international ‘IUFRO 3.08 Small-scale Forestry conference’.

While seasonal migration off-farm by men is leaving women in charge of farms, Asian social scientists believe the phenomenon is quietly reweaving the social fabric of many rural communities. ACIAR-funded collaborative research efforts are helping providers of agricultural development aid better understand the changes and provide resources, agronomic information and appropriate technologies to women as heads of households and farm managers. Farmers have responded well to efforts on the agricultural fronts with the impact of training women increasing yields by 15–20 per cent in rice-based mixed farming systems in the Philippines. The program scope has extended from the Philippines to the lower Mekong basin with similar productivity improvements. The results of the program have demonstrated the power of social science and gender research to drive farming improvements side by side with more traditional technical R&D programs.

New deal for fruit and vegetable research in the Philippines

In developing agribusiness, the Philippine Government and ACIAR have agreed to focus on the aquaculture/mariculture and horticulture sectors. The horticultural initiatives for high-value fruit and vegetable production that provide higher economic returns per unit area and that develop new export markets were designed and commenced during 2007–08. Rural areas in Leyte, Northern Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro) and Southern Mindanao (Davao) have significant potential for expanding fruit and vegetable production and quality, which could help improve the living standard of the people.

Barriers to achieving these objectives include a lack of grower expertise in soil management and crop agronomy, a high incidence of pests and diseases, under-developed markets and value chains for horticultural produce, and political/economic constraints such as limited capital/resources and insecurity of land tenure. These considerations are behind the recent development of two large multi-disciplinary ACIAR projects: ‘Enhanced profitability of selected vegetable value chains in the southern Philippines’ and ‘Improved domestic profitability and export competitiveness of selected fruit value chains in the southern Philippines and Australia’.

The goal of the first project is to help lift the incomes and improve the livelihoods of growers of high-value vegetables in the southern Philippines. The program focuses on smallholder and industry profitability and market competitiveness of the southern Philippines selected vegetable industries, including potato, tomato, brassica and leafy vegetables. The research team is developing and promoting best management practices for local conditions, thus helping farmers in high-rainfall areas to produce highvalue crops in the wet season when prices are high. Their work builds on foundations laid in earlier projects to tackle bacterial wilt in potatoes and tomatoes, to assess the institutional market for high-quality vegetables, improve the capacity of smallholder farmers to access these markets, and design interventions to improve the performance of value chains.

The goal of the second project is to lift economic growth in the Philippines through increased income and improved livelihoods of tropical fruit growers in the southern Philippines, targeting mango, papaya, durian and jackfruit. The research group is identifying constraints to papaya supply chains in the Philippines and determining how growers could gain increased value from the supply chains to which they belong. It also seeks to lift productivity of jackfruit in the eastern Visayas and durian in Mindanao.

The team aims to lift productivity of papaya in the southern Philippines and Australia through integrated crop management to control bacterial crown rot and Phytophthora-related diseases and major insect pests. Another project component focuses on sustainability of the mango industries in the southern Philippines and Australia by improving pest and disease management and ensuring consistency of supply of quality mangoes for targeted markets.

Both project teams are studying the economic impacts of new technologies and policy constraints in fruit and vegetable production in the southern Philippines and Australia. Their findings will help guide the course of further research, enhance the adoption of technologies and identify policy constraints and options for change.