Rice production in the Philippines
The video Preserving the Vanishing Culture of the Ifugao by International Rice Research tells the story of muyong rice production in the Ifugao district of the Philippines. It shows the terraces spread across the mountain slopes to reduce erosion, surface water runoff and the accumulation of soil and sediments in the rice paddy fields.
The narrator is concerned that the traditional life of the people who live here is vanishing. The role of the mumbaki — priests who are responsible for all the ceremonies and cultural rituals and were previously highly respected — is particularly endangered. In one ritual, after the men drink wine and pray to their ancestors, they offer up planting seeds and kill a chicken. The priests inspect the contents of the bile sacs of the chicken, which they interpret as a sign of the upcoming season. While the men perform the rituals in the granary, the women work in the fields, singing to maintain a rhythm as they do so.
Activity
While you watch the video, note the signs of modern life that appear alongside those of the traditional life — for example, the different types of clothes (compare the officials dressed in their white shirts with the mumbaki dressed in traditional clothes), the modern fridges and microwave ovens and the traditional hand-picking of the rice.
Many aspects of the area’s traditional practices are evident in the modern world but they are at risk of vanishing. Do you think the traditional culture can be saved?
“Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices have been proven to contribute to the sustainability and productivity of many ecosystems, examples of which include the rice terraces and imuyung, private woodlot of the Ifugao, the traditional biodiverse swidden of the Hanunuo, and the fish conservation practices of the Dumagat” (International Labour Organization, p. 1).
Source: International Labour Organization. (1998). General framework for the protection and promotion of indigenous knowledge systems and practices in the Philippines. https://www.ilo.org/manila/publications/WCMS_764036/lang–en/index.htm
Licence: CC BY 4.0
Case study
Muyong rice terracing in the Philippines
For over 2,000 years, the Ifugao people have laboriously carved out hundreds of terraces in the sides of mountains for rice farming, with irrigation channels to feed water to the crops on the different levels. Parts of the rice paddy are used for planting taro and onions.
The Ifugao people also practise muyong agroforestry, which involves leaving the very top of the mountain slopes covered with forests. Here, the farmers grow sweet potatoes. Their cultivation methods include slashing or cutting down the trees and woody plants in a particular area. The vegetation is left to dry and then the biomass is burned. The ash forms a nutrient-rich layer of soil and act as a soil cover to eliminate weeds and pests.
Case study
Chena, Kandyan and analogue practices in Sri Lanka
Chena, Kandyan forest gardening, mixed cropping techniques and analogue forestry are traditional cultivation methods that help to create a resilient and diverse agricultural landscape.
Chena is one of the oldest traditional cultivation methods in Sri Lanka. It involves slashing and burning to clear patches of forest in which to cultivate vegetables and grains. While this practice may appear to contribute to deforestation, it is more sustainable than modern agricultural practices because chena farmers adopt rotational farming — that is, they move their farming activities from one piece of land to another, using each plot only for a limited time. This allows the soil and forests to regenerate.
When selecting land for chena cultivation, farmers avoid areas with large trees, which are used to construct houses. They also avoid regions with intensive wildlife as a precautionary measure. Prior to clearing any land, chena farmers employ traditional measures to safeguard wildlife.
Mixed cropping involves growing different crops together to control pests and diseases. This practice enhances biodiversity on farms while providing both economic and environmental stability. Legumes are planted to increase soil nitrogen and reduce reliance on chemical fertilisers.
Kandyan forest gardening involves cultivating a combination of trees, shrubs, vines, and plants on the same plot of land, which maintains a high level of biodiversity. This type of garden is highly resilient to economic and environmental shocks. Similarly, analogue reforestation closely replicates the mix of vegetation of the natural forests and maintains biodiversity.
Adapted from: Agrospecials. (2023). Traditional and indigenous farming practices show Sri Lanka the way to sustainable food production. Agrospecials, Edition 9. https://magazines.rijksoverheid.nl/lnv/agrospecials/2023/01/sri-lanka
Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (https://magazines.rijksoverheid.nl/lnv/agrospecials/2023/01/colofon)
Farmers who practise chena cultivation also follow the cultural tradition of planting in sync with the phases of the moon because they believe that the moon affects the crop yield. They consider the period between the new moon and the full moon to be a suitable period for sowing and harvesting seed and fruit crops. Based on the same principle, leafy vegetables grow from the new moon to the full moon period. The farmers also believe that the water content in the soil gradually improves in the period between the full moon and the new moon, and they therefore select this period for growing root crops, such as sweet potatoes, cassava and onions. They report that the period between the new moon and the first quarter and between the full moon and last quarter are particularly suitable periods for root crops. This indicator basically affects the plant growth cycle and maturity at harvest, thereby increasing the harvest.
As noted before, one of the main sustainable principles of the chena cultivation technology is the use of diversified and polyculture cropping techniques. These techniques are based on the existing agro-ecological diversity and accessibility to agricultural inputs. They do not require the use of toxic chemical and are integrated with locally and historically developed Indigenous knowledge.
In chena production, farmers look for signs of natural vegetation to determine areas with a high water table. Some crops (coriander and bitter gourd) are planted along perimeter fences for household use and to ward off wild animals. Some crops are grown along natural rainwater channels. Some crops — for example, beans (or crops with vines) — are planted close to corn so the corn stalks can support them as they grow. Cassava is harvested during the off-season of the main crops and is an important source of food for farming households. Some vulnerable crops — for example, tomatoes and leafy vegetables — are grown near the family home because they can be more easily protected there from monkeys and birds. The farmers also follow tradition by maintaining an indigenous seed bank in their households.
These unique techniques result in multiple harvests and increased yields and less dependence on inorganic chemicals. Taken together, they bring farming families many economic benefits and enhance the resilience of the families.
Adapted from: Irangani, M. K. L. (2020). Sustainable principles of indigenous chena cultivation and management in Sri Lanka: Lessons for contemporary agricultural problems. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 19(11), 46-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.10.11.2020.p10706
Licence: CC BY
Case study
Matengo (ngolo) pit farming in Tanzania
For over a century, the Matengo people have lived in the Mbinga district of southern Tanzania and cultivated the mountain slopes there. Matengo (also known as ngolo) farming uses a unique soil conservation system to mitigate soil erosion on the slopes. Beans are planted in the late rainy season and maize the following calendar year. From time to time, fields are left fallow. In the early rainy season, weeds are allowed to grow. They are then cut and left to dry for two weeks. The dried grass is collected and arranged into ridges by the men farmers. These ridges form squares and a grid pattern in the fields. Next, the ridges are covered with a little topsoil by the women farmers who then sow the seeds on the ridges. The crop requires very little maintenance and is harvested in the early dry season. Next season, maize is planted on the ridges where the beans were grown. Sometimes cassava is planted on the ridges. There is almost zero tillage, which reduces rain-induced erosion. As the maize grows, the leaves cover the soil, which helps to conserve the soil. The combination of short-term fallowing and use of green manure means that chemical fertilisers are not required.
The spaces between the ridges become square pits that fill with rainwater during heavy rains, even on the steep slopes, but most of the standing water disappears quickly because of sub-surface drains. The pits trap sediment and minimise soil loss caused by runoff water.
Case study
Soil erosion mitigation in central Vietnam
In the mountainous regions of central Vietnam, local farmers practise adaptation measures to mitigate soil erosion. They change cropping patterns, adjust their planting calendars and use native varieties as part of intercropping methods. Research has shown that the soil erosion rate tends to decrease as compared with non-Indigenous practices.
Adapted from: Van Huynh, C., Pham, T. G., Nguyen, T. Q., Nguyen, L. H. K., Tran, P. T., Le, Q. N. P., & Nguyen, M. T. H. (2020). Understanding indigenous farming systems in response to climate change: An Investigation into soil erosion in the mountainous regions of central Vietnam. Applied Sciences, 10(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/app10155091
Licence: Open access; CC BY
Case study
Traditional rice varieties in Bangladesh
Many traditional rice cultivars in Bangladesh have successfully adapted to diverse agro-ecological conditions. For example, over the years, numerous irrigation systems have depleted the water table in some regions, but the traditional aus rice varieties have some tolerance to drought. In the coastal areas, where salinity is common, the aman rice variety is the preferred crop because it can withstand salinity. However, it has a relatively poor yield.
Many small-scale farmers cannot afford to buy seeds, fertilisers or pesticides or to invest in irrigation systems. Instead, they use the seeds from their own harvest. Hundreds of traditional rice cultivars are now being grown in Bangladesh because of their adaptability, superior grain quality and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses.
Case study
Indigenous early maturing seeds in India
For paddy based, rainfall-fed farming, Indian farmers have developed a set of strategies to select the seeds, maintain seed stocks and anticipate climate changes. The farmers use cultural practices to forecast the weather. These practices are based on both biological indicators — for example, the time for the fruiting of mango trees, movement of ants and the presence of certain birds and insects — and spiritual indicators.
The Khari (Kharif) method involves growing crops at the beginning of the monsoon. The seeds germinate in the soil during the first rainfalls and the crop is ready for harvesting 70 days after sowing — before the soil is waterlogged.
Other examples of Indigenous farm practices are Jhuming, or alder-based farming, which is a combination of slash and burn and shifting cultivation or rotational agriculture. Slash and burn is usually done in the first year. Crops are grown in the fields for two years and then the fields are rested to allow for a build-up of nutrients. Meanwhile, the farmers cultivate another plot.
The Zabo farming system farming is a pond-based farming system that was developed over the centuries and is practised in the plains. It combines water conservation with forestry, crop production and animal protection.
