Bohol Project, The Philippines

June – December 2000

General activities
Results obtained
Problems Encountered
Summary

Title page

General activities implemented during the period

  1. PPB/PVS
    • Monitoring of diversity maintained and created by farmers;
    • Distribution and on-farm trials of diverse PGR materials;
    • Farmers’ field schools in five sites 
  1. Seed Supply Systems
    Monitoring of flow of farmers’ seeds 
  2.  
  3. Gender
    Support to women’s participation in project activities 
  4. Mainstreaming the CBDC Approach
    Technical collaboration activities 
  5. Policy
    Policy advocacy campaigns 
     
  6. Other activities
    • Support to organic agriculture
    • Support to community organizing 
    • Support to local networks
    •  

Results obtained

1. PPB/PVS 

The project continued in its efforts to contribute to on-farm genetic diversity and to strengthen farmers’ capacities in conservation and development of plant genetic resources. For the period covered in this report the project focused its PGR activities mainly on rice, the local staple crop.

The period of June – December 2000 covers one full cropping season for rice (June – October) and part of the succeeding cropping season (November – December). Every cropping season, the project introduces new PGR materials to farmers and monitors the diversity in farmers’ fields. For this period, the project reports on mainly the results of farmers’ own plant breeding activities and on the conduct of the farmers’ field schools facilitated by the project.

Farmer-partners who had successfully made crosses or were maintaining breeding lines or doing offtype selections were able to produce several promising stable materials. One farmer who did his varietal crosses three years ago finally came up with his own stable lines that he planted in larger areas for yield performance in the first cropping season (June – September) last year. Other farmers in the community who observed the performance of these materials procured seeds that they also planted in their own fields during the second cropping season. In this way, farmer-developed materials helped provide new varieties to local farmers and increased varietal diversity in the community. The same farmer also conducted two sets of crosses last year that enabled him to produce a new generation of segregating materials for further selection.

Another farmer who had been maintaining several breeding lines provided to him by the project also produced his own stable materials after three years. He expanded the planting area of these materials to evaluate their yield performance in the second cropping season. Other farmers were also able to observe the performance of these stable materials and had asked for seeds to be planted in their own fields in the coming cropping season. One farmer did his own selection from offtypes that resulted in two promising materials. This method of varietal development is common among Bohol’s farmers and contributes to varietal diversity as well.

The project is monitoring and evaluating how farmer-developed varieties are contributing to varietal diversity. Overall, the number of farmer varieties, i.e., stable lines produced by farmers, amounted to more than 30 during this period. The project collects seeds of these materials and distributes them to other farmers for field evaluation. Some of these materials were also included by the project in the field trial of the farmers’ field schools that it conducted beginning in the second season.

The period also saw the project’s implementation of farmers’ field schools on participatory plant breeding in five sites. The FFS-PPB approach had been adopted as a strategy to facilitate capacity building of farmers in PGR development. It is patterned after the FFS in integrated pest management but the focus is on enhancing farmers’ knowledge, experience and skills in plant breeding. Like the FFS-IPM, the PPB field schools incorporate participatory learning methods using interactive discussions, popular education techniques, hands-on training and field site management and evaluation.

The project implemented the PPB-FFS in five communities, including one new area, during the second cropping season. In general, implementation of the FFS in the five communities followed these steps:

  1. PGR baselining - This preliminary step is necessary in order to understand the PGR situation in the community. Baselining includes knowing the varieties presently and previously planted by farmers as well as farmers’ evaluation of the varieties’ traits. This information will indicate the extent of genetic diversity in the community. Also, it aims to know the farmers’ methods in conserving and developing their PGR as this will be the standpoint for enhancing farmers’ knowledge and skills through the FFS. By knowing the situation, strengths and weaknesses of local crop conservation and development the design and approaches of the FFS can be tailored to suit the community’s needs. The project used PRA tools and workshop-discussions with farmers in order to get the PGR baseline of each community.
  2. Setting the breeding objectives - After generating the PGR baseline, the community should set their breeding objectives. The breeding objectives identify the traits of the varieties or materials that farmers hope to develop through crossing, or through selections from segregating and stable materials. The objectives are based on farmers’ needs and on local agro-ecological conditions. With the breeding objectives, farmers can identify stable materials they wish to plant and evaluate on their field site as well as the sets of parentals they intend to cross. The breeding objectives thus guide the project as to what materials to use in the FFS for farmers to monitor and evaluate. The project generated these breeding objectives through workshops and discussions with farmers.
  3. Accessing and preparing the materials - Once the local PGR situation has been assessed and the farmers’ breeding objectives set, the next step is to collect and prepare the materials for farmers to evaluate in the field. The breeding objectives are used to guide in identifying materials to collect. However, genetic diversity of the materials is also considered in order to avoid having genetically uniform or closely-related lines. The project collected most of the materials from local and outside sources but there were also several that were provided by farmers themselves, including breeding lines and stable materials developed by farmer-breeders. For the breeding lines, the project collected both early (F2 – F4) and late (F6 – F8) generations so farmers will be able to simultaneously evaluate these types of materials. The stable materials, including the parentals, composed of farmers’ selections, formal release varieties and some traditional varieties to ensure a broad range of genetic diversity.
  4. Setting up the field trial – After collecting and preparing the materials, the field trial is designed and set up. The trial is intended to provide the farmers with hands-on experience in managing and evaluating breeding lines and stable materials. The trial puts together all the collected materials into one site so that farmers can evaluate and compare the materials throughout one cropping season. In consultation with local farmers, the project identified the site to implement the trial in each community. Based on the size and shape of the trial site, the layout is designed to accommodate all the materials and facilitate easy management and evaluation. Farmers are involved in planting the materials in the field so they have a collective experience in setting up the trial. The project also made sure to use organic fertilizers for the field trial, as this will evaluate response of materials to organic fertilization.
  5. Evaluation of materials - The planted materials are to be monitored and evaluated regularly throughout the season. Evaluation of the materials is done starting from seedbed stage and at every major growth stage thereafter, such as early and late vegetative stages, reproductive stage, and ripening stage. Thus, performance of the materials is evaluated and compared at different stages of growth. During the evaluation, farmers visit the field to observe the materials and document their observations. Evaluation method differs for the breeding lines and for stable materials. For the breeding lines, the evaluation is focused on assessing the range of diversity within each population and identifying preferred individual plants. For the stable lines, the materials are evaluated and compared for performance and adaptability. Based on the results of the evaluation, farmers identify and select stable materials and individual plants from the breeding lines that they want to replant in the succeeding season. These materials will then be maintained by farmers on their own fields thereby providing them
  6. Capacity-building of farmers – The FFS is utilized as an approach to enhance farmers’ knowledge and skills in PPB. Alongside actual evaluation and selection of breeding lines and stable materials, training is provided to farmers to enable them to understand basic concepts related to genetics and plant breeding, and to acquire techniques in parental selection and crossing, varietal evaluation, as well as handling and selection of segregating materials. The specific topics in the FFS are: systems of crop conservation and development; physiology and morphology of the rice plant; basic genetics and heredity; rice hybridization techniques; and handling and selection of breeding lines. After the FFS, the farmers are expected to have the basic knowledge and skills to do plant breeding activities. The project designed a training module that made use of participatory and popular education methods focused on PPB. The activities in the module include lecture-discussions, workshops, demonstrations, practicals and even games to keep the field schools lively and interactive.
2. Seed Supply System  

Activities of the project on this t-line focused only on monitoring the flow of seeds among farmers as part of the local seed supply. No significant results are obtained as the project’s monitoring merely validated the predominant traditional mode of seed exchange among farmers. Farmers’ seeds remain the most important source of seed materials. However, new varieties coming from the project or developed by local farmers have become part of the local seed supply and are being exchanged and shared among farmers alongside varieties developed by the formal sector.

3. Gender  

Overall, the project’s main gender-related activities during this period focused on facilitating women’s participation in PPB/PVS. Female farmers are encouraged to participate in all project activities in the communities, such as in seed evaluation, selection and exchange. In general, about 40% of the farmers actively participating in project activities are women.

4. Mainstreaming the CBDC Approach

 The project engaged in a number of technical collaborations in order to promote and mainstream the approaches of the CBDC program. In 1999, the project entered into a technical collaboration agreement with a local agricultural college, the Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry and Technology (CVSCAFT). The collaboration was projected to end in September 2000 but both parties extended this for another year in order to sustain the activities that had been started.

 For the CVSCAFT, the collaboration has provided its research, development and extension department the opportunities and experience to acquire and enhance its technical capacities in relation to undertaking participatory on-farm researches. On the part of the project, the collaboration gave it better appreciation of working with local academic institutions, as part of enhancing formal – informal linkages.

Also through the collaboration the project was able to harness the services of student-interns from the CVSCAFT. These interns assisted not only in activities at the collaboration site but also in other areas of the project. Their assistance facilitated the work of the staff in the conduct and documentation of on-farm research as well as the training of farmers.

The research collaboration generated information and results in on-farm researches in PVS/PPB, soil fertility management and ecological pest management. In the collaboration site of Zamora, Bilar, farmer-partners carried out these researches with assistance from both CVSCAFT and the project. These researches were undertaken alongside training activities intended to enhance farmers’ knowledge and skills. Among the notable researches undertaken by farmers were adaptability trials of new varieties, fertilization experiments using various plant materials, and pest management experiments using insect-repellant plant materials.

During the second cropping season, the CVSCAFT and the project also implemented the FFS-PPB in Zamora, Bilar. Jointly, the CVSCAFT and the project conducted the training activities of the FFS and assisted farmers in managing and evaluating the trial of different materials in their field site. Through the collaboration also, the CVSCAFT conducted seed increase of more than 30 varieties on its own field site. Most of the materials used in the seed increase came from farmer-partners of the project. Farmers participating in the FFS from different sites were able to observe and evaluate the materials.

From the research collaboration, CVSCAFT and SEARICE are now in the process of coming up with research papers. These papers include results on the rice farming system analysis of Zamora, adaptability results of new rice varieties, and results on farmers’ experiments in soil fertility and pest management. Some of these papers will be published in a research journal of the CVSCAFT that will come out in 2001. Further, the project and CVSCAFT plans to discuss in 2001 the proposal to develop a curriculum for the state college incorporating PGR and sustainable agriculture. The experience from the research collaboration will be used in part to design the said curriculum.

Another technical mainstreaming activity of the project during this period is the conduct of a trainers’ training on PGR in September. This activity was undertaken in collaboration with the CVSCAFT and the Agriculture Department of the Provincial Government of Bohol. This training was based on the regional PGR training that was implemented by SEARICE from 1995 to 1999. The aim of having the training in Bohol was to promote local PGR conservation and development among NGOs and government agricultural agencies. At the end of the training, the participants proposed to institute PGR concerns into the agricultural development program of the government. The training was also a venue to promote the policy issues of SEARICE related to PGR. This became an opportunity for the project to strengthen links with other local institutions.

5. Policy

 On the policy front, the project continues to raise farmers’ awareness concerning PGR-related policy issues. Around the last quarter of the year, the project launched an education awareness campaign to get farmers’ sentiments regarding a proposed plant variety protection bill within the context of the government’s commitment to the WTO. Using a role-laying presentation to generate reactions from farmers, farmers expressed their objection to having a bill that would allow protection of plant varieties as this would restrict traditional free flow and exchange of genetic resources. The bill will also possibly place farmers’ varieties in danger of being subjected to claims of ownership and protection by unscrupulous persons and companies. The farmers then signed on to a petition paper addressed to the Senate that articulated the farmers’ opposition to the proposed bill. The campaign was part of the project’s advocacy against the proposed plant variety protection bill.

The project also participated in the drafting of the province of Bohol’s framework for sustainable agriculture. This framework will be used to guide programs and activities related to sustainable agriculture in the province. In the draft, the project incorporated provisions on the ban of GMO field testing and propagation in the province as well as protection of local genetic resources against biopiracy and PVP. The draft is now being deliberated for possible enactment by early 2001.

The project also held a public forum on GMOs in November with the presence of a Swiss environmentalist working with Greenpeace. The forum was able to produce a position paper calling on the provincial government to prohibit GMO field testing and propagation in the province. A forum on biodiversity conservation was also facilitated by the project with the participation of Asian network members of the Development Fund who were holding a network seminar in Bohol. The forum helped to raise local awareness on biodiversity conservation based on experiences in Asian countries.

6. Other related activities of the project
  • Support to organic agriculture

    The project continued to assist and document farmers’ experimentation and conversion to organic farming. Farmers proceeded to experiment with different types of organic materials in their fields. Materials included animal manure from livestock. Manure from cows and pigs are available within the farm while chicken manure is bought in large quantities from local poultry farms. Farmers also evaluated fertilization effects using nitrogen-rich plants that are commonly found in the community. Farmers experimented by applying these materials in small areas first just to observe their results.

    In the second cropping season last year, the project introduced the use of biocompost enhancer that can help hasten decomposition of organic materials and facilitate release of nutrients to the plants. This biocompost enhancer is produced from the culture of beneficial microorganisms and using a combination of chicken manure, rice hull ash, rice bran and sawdust as medium. The enhancer can be applied to organic materials in the field, which the microorganisms will act upon and decompose so that the nutrients can be released to and used by the plants. Production of this biocompost enhancer is a project of the local network of organizations promoting sustainable agriculture known as Bohol Initiators for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (BISAD), of which the project is a key member.

    Farmers whom the project selected to experiment using the biocompost enhancer observed that its effects on rice were generally similar to or better than directly using organic fertilizer or materials. Some farmers were interested to again use the enhancer while a farmers’ group planned to produce their own biocompost fertilizer using the enhancer. Thus, through the BISAD project, the project is providing farmers with an alternative material for their organic farming.

    The biocomposting project of the BISAD will produce organic fertilizer from biodegradable wastes generated in the city of Tagbilaran, the capital of Bohol. The project will be implemented in coordination with city government of Tagbilaran. The city government, with funding from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), will undertake a solid waste management program that includes a biocomposting component. Based on the agreement between BISAD and the city government, the former will manage and operate the biocomposting project using biodegradable wastes to be segregated, collected and delivered by the city government.

    This project will not only benefit farmers in need of organic fertilizers but will also contribute to improving the solid waste situation of the city. By the third quarter of last year, the BISAD was able to produce the biocompost enhancer called Bokashi. This material, which uses effective microorganisms, will be later combined with biodegradable waste to produce biocompost fertilizer ready for field application.

    The project also assisted its farmer-partners in the marketing of their organic rice as a form of economic support. The project facilitated the purchase of rice from farmers at a premium price above the prevailing local price. The premium serves as incentive to farmers. The rice were then sold to consumers in Tagbilaran who have become aware of the benefits of eating organic food. The project expects the volume of organic rice produced and sold by farmers to increase after the end of the second cropping season. This is due to increasing adoption of organic farming and farmers’ recognition of the potential of rice marketing to increase their income.

    The project also utilized the BISAD network to help market the organic rice produced by its farmer-partners. Organic rice produced in March-April and in September-October were marketed by the project through the BISAD member organizations. These organizations were able to facilitate the sale and delivery of organic rice to consumers mainly in Tagbilaran. With this marketing activity through BISAD, the project was able to provide economic support to its farmer-partners who were able to sell their organic rice at a premium price. The organic rice also helped promote among consumers awareness of the value of organic farming and this helped to identify the project as one of those organizations advocating sustainable agriculture.
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  • Support to community organizing

    The project continued to support the strengthening of its farmer-partners’ groups. Regular follow-ups and participation in meetings enabled the project staff to provide advice, assistance and guidance to the groups. Last year, a local farmers’ group participated in a Basic Organizational Management training facilitated by the project. The training aimed to equip the farmers’ group with knowledge and skills in strengthening and managing the organization. The same training is being planned for the other farmers’ groups. The project considers the presence of a strong farmers’ group as key to ensuring sustainability of the project in the community.
  • Support to local networks

    As part of its mainstreaming work, the project continued to support the activities of the local SA network, namely the Bohol Initiators for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (BISAD). For the second year, the project was elected to be the secretariat of the Board. As such, the project helped coordinate the key activities of the network. The project has served as coordinating center for meetings and activities of the network thus providing it a big role in defining the direction of the BISAD.

    Other mainstreaming activities of the project include participation in the exhibit-fair during the celebration of the Sandugo month, an annual festival in Bohol held in July. The project put up an exhibit for public viewing that promoted the project’s activities. The project also participated in the awards committee of the government for outstanding local farmers. The project is also a member of the provincial development council, the government’s planning arm, and in the civil society sector of the provincial government’s Sustainable Integrated Area Development (SIAD) framework. This framework guides the local government’s thrusts and programs along the principles of sustainable development. Through this framework, the project is able to pursue its agenda of supporting farmers’ role in conservation and development of PGR.

Problems Encountered

Among the major problems encountered by the project during this period is its limited access to diverse PGR materials. Currently, the project is limited to locally available materials and those that come from other NGOs. The project is exploring the possibility of accessing materials from certain local formal sources and from around the Southeast Asian region. Access to these materials will ensure a broader genetic diversity available to farmers. These materials can also be used by farmers for their own breeding activities to create new diversity locally. However, the project needs to examine and develop appropriate protocols, such as materials transfer agreement, to be able to facilitate access to these materials.

The project also encountered some difficulties in developing the module on PPB for the farmers’ field school. The staff had to develop its own PPB module as the FFS went along. However, the experience of developing the module mainly on its own was a worthwhile process for the project.

While the project has been generating a large amount of information from its researches, it has not been able to undertake gender-segregation of the information. The data are still being treated wholly without segregating gender-based results. The project needs to design and interpret its researches to allow gender-segregation in order to highlight gender roles in PGR conservation and development.

Summary

For this period, the project gained significant results in terms of strengthening its PPB approaches. Farmers are producing stable lines from their own breeding activities and these materials are spreading to other farmers either through the project or through traditional seed exchange and sharing. These are contributing to local genetic diversity and validating farmers’ capacity to do plant breeding.

The project has refined its approach to PPB with its implementation of the farmers’ field school methodology. The FFS has provided a more systematic process of capacity building for farmers, combining theory and practice in a collective and participatory process for the farmers.

The project has strengthened its mainstreaming of the CBDC approach and advocacy of PGR issues through its local technical collaborations and advocacy activities. The project is laying the basis for "institutionalizing" PGR in the academe and within government programs and policies. Moreover, it is expanding its local networking activities in support of PGR and organic agriculture. Through the local networks, the project is aiming to establish support mechanisms for organic agriculture.