BARECO farmers raise rice harvest from 80 to 178 cavans

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
August 1, 2012

CABUCGAYAN, Biliran – They used to harvest a maximum of 80 cavans of rice from a one-hectare lot during dry cropping season, and they were already happy with it.

Imagine the jubilation of the members of the Balaquid Agrarian Reform Cooperative (BARECO) in Cabugcayan, Biliran, when recently, there they were able to harvest 178 cavans of rice from the one hectare lot that serves as their demo farm for the season-long training on Palay Check System.

Mr. Jose Alsmith Soria, Information officer of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Eastern Visayas said that Palay Check System is a program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) considered to be a dynamic rice crop management system that presents the best technology and management practices.

Development Facilitator Thelma Alba and Agriculture and Agribusiness Development (AAD) coordinator Joy Sandigan who assisted agriculture technician Elizabeth Gayrama in the conduct of the training, said that they were only anticipating an increase of up to a maximum yield of 120 cavans.

The 178 cavans yield is indeed far beyond their expectations.

From the selection of seeds that are appropriate for a particular cropping season the farmers also learned in this training the timely applications of fertilizers and pesticides, proper water management and even the timing of harvesting in order to produce more.

According to BARECO chairman Roger Ayuste, 51, one of the 15 participants of the said training, in the past, they repeatedly used the same seeds over and over again during planting season; apply fertilizers and pesticides anytime; and supply the field with abundant water with the belief that what they were practicing would help them achieve a good harvest.

After that training, they did not only learn to determine which seed variety is appropriate for the season, but also the right amount of seeds needed.

For his half a hectare lot, Ayuste said that prior to this training he used 40 kilos of seeds and plant the seedlings too close to one another thinking it would produce more.

But after acquiring knowledge on the proper rice farming practices he found out that he just need 20 kilos of seeds and saved half of the price. He also realized that planting seedlings closely would rather produce less.

In the application of fertilizers and pesticides, they in the past, used 12 bags of commercial fertilizers that cost about P1,300 per bag for a one-hectare lot and used pesticides indiscriminately.

Now, they use five bags only of commercial fertilizers and mix them with six bags of organic one, much cheaper than the former at only P420 per bag; while use of pesticides was minimized.

Aside from the very high yield, the farmers are likewise extremely happy to tell that they saved a lot of money from seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, and made farming less hazardous to their health too.

The farmers sell their produce to the cooperative, while the cooperative’s buyers for now include residents of this town and nearby barangays of adjacent municipalities, hoping that someday they can expand their rice trading business to other areas.

During the preparation in 2001, of the development plan for the Cabucgayan agrarian reform community (ARC) which is composed of six farming villages: Bunga, Magbangon, Look, Esperanza, Libertad and Balaquid, into a vibrant one, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Ismael Aya-ay, who was then the Provincial Agrarian Reform Support Services Officer (PARSSO), included said training in the list of required activities as he deemed it necessary to increase productivity to improve agrarian reform beneficiaries’ (ARBs’) income and contribute as well to the province’s attainment of food security particularly in the supply of rice.

When Cabucgayan ARC was included under the third phase of the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP-3) jointly funded by the governments of the Philippines and Japan thru the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) collaborated with the Municipal Agriculturist Office (MAO) for the conduct of the said training under its AAD component.

During the last quarter, DAR Regional Director Eliasem Castillo turned over to the local government unit and to the irrigators association the maintenance of the completed farm-to-market road in Brgy. Balaquid, and the rehabilitated communal irrigation system that supplies water now to about 60 hectares of rice fields in the area.

Castillo disclosed that the two projects implemented under the physical infrastructure component of ARISP-3 complement with the AAD activities to ensure that ARBs achieve the maximum production in their awarded lots under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform program (CARP).

Presently, the farmers are into the second cycle of rice productivity enhancement training, this time for the wet cropping season.

Because of this training, the farmers were identified as community seed banking (CSB), a source for certified seeds.

The BARECO farmers have endless inspiring and encouraging stories to tell from what they have learned and experienced.

They finally bade goodbye to traditional farming and opened their world to modern techniques.