Last week, I had a chance to accompany a lecturer on alternative rice farming. I was his driver while going around farm-villages in Ubay, Bohol spreading his advocacy. Impressed, his approach to organic farming carried a lot of sense. Accordingly, in traditional rice farming a hectare of ricefield requires one sack to one and a half sacks of palay for seedling purposes. A sack of palay weighs around 40 kilos. Certified seeds costs Php25.00 a kilo while the hybrid varieties can go as high as P300.00 per kilo. But the requirement is reduced to 20 kilos. Certified seeds, however, covered by government subsidies costs Php15.00 only but seed choices are very limited. For a hectare of riceland, the seed cost ranges from Php1,000.00 to Php6,000.00 depending on the variety and source.
Unbelievably, the alternative approach requires only 5 to 8 kilos of certified seeds, drastically reducing the seed costs to P200.00. Immersing a kilo of seeds in a gallon of water mixed with 150 grams of rock salt effectively separates the good seeds from the bad ones. Salt increases the water's buoyancy, thereby making the bad seeds float, separating them from the good ones which stay in the bottom. The selected seeds should be washed twice with clean water before they are spread for planting in the seedbed. A handful of seeds occupies a square meter of seedbed. A kilo of palay consists around 40,000 seeds.
Why the too low seed input? Actually, it is in the farming practice which makes the difference and not on the kind of seeds as many among us would likely think and were made to believe. Since the recommended planting distance is 30 centimeters apart, twice more compared to the traditional practice, there will be less seedlings needed. Each hill requires only one seedling, not the usual 3 to 4 or even more. This allows the seedling to develop more tillers from 17 to as many as 30 because it has greater space for itself, solely giving it almost unrestricted access to soil nutrients and sunshine. The soil can also rest, avoiding stress since it supplies to less demand from the plants above it. Comparatively, a crowding approach by planting three or more seedlings result in less number of tillers, from 7 to 10. A healthy seedling has a strong immune system which can defend itself against diseases and pests. This leads to more and better quality harvests.
Bottomline, the farmer saves. Less seeds mean a provision for the family table. Imagine 8 kilos compared to 60 kilos which translates to reduced seed cost generating savings up to P5,000.00. It means food on the table for the average Filipino family of 5 good for a month or extra cash which maybe used for electricity, access to better health service, clothing, education or savings for the rainy days, so to speak. Less number of seedlings also means, less farm workers required in the process of transplanting seedlings there being approximately 80,000 seedlings to plant compared to the usual 1,600,000 seedlings. This is another profit center. Surprisingly, less is more. We ought to have more like this lecturer who understands the earth and shares his wisdom on how farming is made simpler and wiser.
A big difference indeed which means a lot to a rice growing country. The Philippine economy is largely agricultural. Sadly, it is unfortunate that majority of the farmers belong to the marginal income group. Rice farming modernization entails a large amount of farm inputs but ironically results in low profitability. Despite of genetically enhanced seeds for better pest resistance and higher yields, stronger and more potent chemical fertilizers, increased rice gate prices, better to farm to market roads, aggressive land reform program , still the rice farmer is at the tail end of all these hurdles. Perhaps, there is need to look back and listen to the earth more intently for better understanding. Let us put ourselves to task by promoting this back-to-basics approach to help improve the plight of our farmers. Jose Rizal, our national hero, said " We cannot all be doctors, somebody must till the land."
Let's discuss some earth-friendly farming insights. Pls contact - text: 0917-632-1116 or email: wcyharvestpsalms@gmail.com
