1.1 FARMING IN THE MOUNTAINS (70’s and 80’s)

Flashback to 70s/80s, early in my career, I realized that to be a good agriculturist I should also be forester and a rural sociologist as well. I grew up in the mountainous Central Visayas region where half of agriculture was conducted in the mountains. Kaingin and upland farming was rapidly evolving into a major environmental concern with mounting incidence of soil erosion and flooding issues. The Central Visayas, Regional Development Council (RDC) launched a pilot project that aimed to model the way for decentralized decision making for more effective forest and watershed care. I was part of this undertaking and eager to test an idea and learn as a younger professional!

**Part of my work, was to help formulate support programs for upland communities**. The above bulletin talked about “farm planning in the hilly lands. This was a radical idea (then) from the point of view of government. It was about “farming in the mountains “and how to do it, safely and profitably! “Local experts put their heads together to craft this bulletin. The picture (hilly slopes with horizontal contour lines) reflects very “technical vision” of the authors then. It is also betrayed the gentle “innocence” of this period (Amorsolo like rendition of the farm family- father, mother, boy with “tirador “and baby).

Ideas that inspired us (70’s/80’s)

Farming in the mountains – a social issue first and foremost, before being a technical issue
In the humid tropics, the nutrients are in the biomass, not in the soil
Exit terraces and physical structures, enter biological methods of soil conservation
Hilly land farming systems can be stabilized and made profitable
Social forestry is a viable alternative to “approach and control” (top down)
For successful watershed management -start at the micro-watershed level

Remarkable Communities

Hilly communities in Alegria in Cebu, Barangay Magsaysay in Talibon, Bohol, Bayawan in Negros and Cangapa in Siquijor

Catalytic projects that helped model the way

DOST PCARRD Technopack Project, WB-NEDA Central Visayas Regional Project; USAID DENR /DA Rainfed Resources Development Project.

My field notes

Maya (not her real name) was the most favorite young friend of my mother in old age. She provided all around help. A single parent, she was also a hilly land farmer in **the steep southern mountain range of Cebu**. I interviewed her in the 80s and the diagram above tells her story. Her farm is about 3-hour steep climb from the barangay center. She grew native corn and camote (sweet potatoes) as a tenant of a one-hectare hilly farm. She tilled the soil almost standing up (no need to stoop) as her land is on very steep slope. She kept 3 cows and made native mats when not very busy with farm chores. Her kids hiked two hours to school daily, crossing 3 rivers and, bringing a baon of malunggay (horse radish) soup mixed with corn ears.

**The beginnings of social forestry and modern agroforestry …** I was part of the slow and silent transformation of the common thinking on how to take care of forests and the role of upland farming. There were sites in the country where the transformation was happening. Some were government led, some NGO led. There was a gradual shift in thinking–from: “*there should be no people in forest lands* *to…* “***Having farmers in forest lands is socially acceptable thru agroforestry”.*** The idea appealed to me for I could apply the concept of agroforestry, learned in school!

**Microwatershed management**, this was quite a technically advanced approach at that time. It tried to guide farm planning among neighboring farms in a landscape for more effective soil and water conservation in a watershed. The idea was super correct but it couldn’t be sustained by the communities as the long-term incentive systems (e.g. tenure security, markets) were not there yet.

The **RDC initiative** in four Central Visayas watersheds.

At this time the major emphasis was about organizing upland communities as stakeholders. There was no talk yet about multisectoral approach (the latter was a product of thinking of the 90s)

Thought leaders, Mentors and Co-travelers

The **Central Visayas initiative** drew strength from different local specialists from different line agencies to work as site-based teams. They underwent a 6-month orientation and practicum to expand perspectives from a purely sectoral and extension approach to one incorporating a hybrid of community organizing (CO) and community development (CD) approach.

**Two mentors stand out in this chapter** of my technical life as part of the central Visayas experiment. **Dr. Romy Raros (+)** a likable maverick professor from Los Banos who was most creative with the help of caffeine, nicotine and (a bit of) alcohol. His deep ideas on how nature works in the farm dislodged all of us from our comfort levels as professionals on viewing agriculture. And he also taught us the poor man’s approach to agroforestry!

Another mentor who really shaped my technical paradigm is this Filipino American with who could fluently speak several dialects (tagalog, Bisaya, Tausug, chabacano) fluently with a broadcaster’s voice. The ladies swooned on him. **Mr. Pat Dugan (+)** brought with him the conscience of a “reformed” former logger. He credibly introduced us to the idea of community forestry (viable forest enterprise and sustainable protection.) These ideas eventually blossomed into the (albeit diluted) community forestry program we know of today in the Philippines (The earlier version as conceived by Pat was more daring and transformative). At least three DENR secretaries sought his ideas on CF.

**A few other mentors** helped shape my agro and forest paradigm. **Dr. Percy Sajise (RRDP),** and **Pastor Delber Rice** in Nueva Viscaysa who assured us that we were in the right direction from the socio – ecological standpoint! **Mr. Bill Granert** of the Soil and Water Conservation shaped our understanding of farmer-based soil and water conservation,
**Dr. Fred Van De Vusse and Dr. Angel Alcala** helped shape my coastal resources management understanding. **Mr. Ver Zabala (+)** (Ver), a very good friend had no equal in terms of understanding the farmers mind, and his passion and stamina to make agroforestry work on the ground. **Mr. Rafael Jun Bojos** taught me how to navigate the fisheries world
**Mr. Rey Crsystal, the articulate Central Visayas NEDA regional director** and Dr. Pons Batugal (DOST PCARRD) helped me in many ways on how to bring science to influence policy and politics. Allow me to cite – Joel B. Choy C, Cha C, May Y, Tex. Weng, Becky, Fred, John, Bel, Pam, Chit, Fred, Boyet, Henry, Jun, Ed, Caesar and many more.

Insights

The upland agriculture issues were a lot simpler then. One of the key major issues then was kaingin. Today it is already about commodity driven agriculture (e.g., yellow corn in hilly lands).
Notwithstanding its gaps, the Central Visayas experiment in the 80s was the germ of a concept of transforming government from an ineffective regulator to one fostering people-oriented resource management.
The acid test of a cost effectiveness of good upland technology would be labor intensity. If too labor intensive, it won’t last or it won’t spread well (e.g., SALT).
Market forces are more powerful than the best technologies and extension work.
Policy-based incentive and systems (not project incentives) coupled with context-based regulations is really the key in the uplands.
This period was my first my first full exposure to the” institutional culture” of DA and DENR, and LGU. These cultures either enabled or constrained meaningful development…
Too much money in so short a project timeframe is a recipe for non-sustainability of successful, project inspired practices.

Acknowledgements: community pictures and CVRP picture – Ms. Charito Chiu, CVRP

1.1 FARMING IN THE MOUNTAINS (70’s and 80’s)

Ideas that inspired us (70’s/80’s)

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