Tramlines for rice terraces, why not?

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Can old and new ideas and practices work well together to promote rural development and good income for rice farmers in the Cordillera highlands? The response of "Ama" Maximo Suyon, chairman of Barangay Aguid in Sagada, reveals a progressive stand that is at the same an appeal for help: "The old ways become even more reliable when these are improved with better ideas and practices," he said. His insight was elicited during the consultations undertaken by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad)-Board and Executive Staff during their visit to Aguid last April 7, 2008. The consultation was held following a walkthrough of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) communal irrigation project (CIP) in Aguid community by the Ifad top brass. The rehabilitation and concreting of this CIP's 11-kilometer (km) canal, from the water source to the rice fields, was supported by the Asian Development Bank and Ifad-funded Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resources Management (Charm) project (Phase I). During the walkthrough, the members of the Ifad Board and Executive Staff were informed that the CIP was turned over to the community by NIA. The community operates and maintains this facility following an indigenous system called "lampisa." "Lampisa," according to Ama Suyon, is a traditional practice followed by the community to keep the irrigation canal operational at its optimum level. When the whole stretch of this canal was not yet cemented, community members and users were equally divided and assigned to clean and maintain their portion of this agricultural infrastructure and thus ensure that adequate volumes of water keeps flowing to irrigate the rice terraces. When minor repairs and expenses are required, the community members and users assigned to the area will shoulder it. Major expenses and work necessary to keep the whole CIS operational are brought to the community through the elders and barangay official who will mobilize support in terms of finances, food and labor. The practice of "lampisa" has evolved and survived through several generations in Aguid, Sagada where community members are closely knit as relatives and members of the clan. Cementing the irrigation canal has reduced labor required for its maintenance, increased water flow and utilization. However, "lampisa" will still be followed like when community members will be asked to repair or provide funds for repair and maintenance work. Impressed by how the community manages their CIS, Mr. Kevin Cleaver during the dialogue with community elders, asked what projects would they want the new Charm project to undertake in their village? By way of an answer, he asked: "How about tramlines?" Mr. Cleaver asked, "Why tramlines? Can you possibly operate this new infrastructure?" Ama Suyon did not respond and the obvious answer is no. In the consultation undertaken for the women folk, an old woman, in response to the same query, asked for the same intervention. "We need tramlines," she said. Unlike the forum for the elders, the woman was not pressed for further explanation on her request. The women seem to understand their needs more than the men folks. On the way back to Mount Data, Amalia Garcia-Tharn, executive director to Ifad, Deputy Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassy of Sweden and Anna Benassi, Evaluation Assistant, Office of Evaluation-Ifad, exchanged notes on their observations during the consultations and they came to the point where the request for tramlines were aired by two old folks. The rice terraces are constructed on the mountainsides and require good legs and strong bodies to farm. During cultivation, farmers carry "lumeng" or composted animal waste and other organic waste to the fields. Farmers also carry their loads of palay (unhusked rice) along steep winding pathways along the rice terraces during harvest. Most of the works, involving carrying of loads, were assigned to the young during my time. It is not always the case today. The young do not appreciate farm work in the rice terraces. They would rather work as miners or laborers in the vegetable farms in Benguet or live in the cities," said Ama Suyon. The loggers introduced tramlines to the highlands to transport logs between mountains. With some innovations and using the front drive of a vehicle, farmers used tramlines to haul vegetables from the valley floor, or across mountains. The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office and the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE) have established 11 agricultural tramline projects in Benguet and Mountain Province as alternative transport system for vegetables. Another 10 tramline projects are being set up in both provinces also for vegetable production. The technology reduces drudgery in hauling and provides transport in highland production areas characterized by extreme difficult conditions because of ravines, rivers and dense vegetation. It is a hauling facility using cables and pulleys to transport agricultural products and inputs from isolated farms to the nearest road. The cost of establishing a tramline project ranges from P800,000 to P1 million depending on the distance of the production site to the road. The cost covers the procurement of a diesel engine, cables, pulleys, and construction materials for the set-up of the machine shed and loading platform. Most of the farmer users of tramlines cited that this technology reduces post harvest losses; time spent in hauling agricultural products from days to minutes; and ensures their safety from accident during hauling on steep pathways especially during the rainy days. In the past, Ama Suyon said family and community life revolved around the rice farming cycle. The care of the whole biodiversity of life in the community to include humans, plants, livestock and the wilds that as close to their yards are attended to by the community in tandem with the preparation of the fields, planting it with rice and caring and harvesting this crop. The rice fields do not only produce rice but also yield fishes, crabs, frogs, shells and water ferns for food. "Many of these things are now missing from the field including the caring hands that some of the members of the clan-community used to provide," he said. Will the provision of tramlines substitute for the absence of able hands or will it encourage them to come back to work the rice fields? "Tramlines can form part of the answer. In Kalinga, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has provided funds for the rice farmers to procure post harvest equipment. This is in answer to their desire to process more rice for export to the USA. Vicky Garcia, Director of Rice, Incorporated which assists the farmers in Kalinga and Ifugao in this export venture said that many farmers have returned to their rice fields after they were informed that they can participate and earn a respectable income from it. Governor Maximo Dalog, in a speech during the launching of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Program (CHRP) in Bontoc last month, appealed for more investments to improve the production, post-harvest and packaging of this native rice. That may clarify it a bit. Tramlines, good agricultural practices and a profitable market for farm products that makes highland farming more respectable promote rural development in the highlands. - Sun.Star Baguio