Philippines

Achievements

Key indicators and performance for 2009-2010

Indicator: Key disease constraints to major fruit (papaya, jackfruit and durian) production and quality, and broader constraints to papaya industry efficiency and profitability, identified through mapping of representative supply chains, with results communicated to industry and producers

Performance: Key disease constraints (Phytophthora—several species, of which one may be new) have been identified for durian and jackfruit. In papaya the key disease constraints are bacterial crown rot (Erwinia) and choco spot (Corynespora cassiicola), while the predominant commercial insect pests are a range of phytophagous mites, spiralling whitefly, fruit flies, mealy bug, scales and snout beetle. The papaya domestic supply chain has been mapped in collaboration with local industry partners.

Indicator: Economic assessment and initial farmer evaluation of cost-effective protected vegetable cropping system in Leyte completed

Performance: All of nine protected cropping structures (differing designs and locations) are now delivering positive gross margins that are higher than open field production,especially on farmer sites. Private partners are currently erecting a further 19 structures using component designs. Key observations from the results of the analysis indicated the following:

• Gross margins for the ‘control’ are negative in three of the four cases, indicating that growing crops without protection in the given environment is not feasible.
• The igloo structures at Visayas State University (VSU) had higher gross margins than the house type (even though they are much smaller and cheaper).
• Farmers’ gross margins were higher for crops grown under house type protective structures at farmer sites than at the VSU site.

In the first to third croppings the Cabintan and Maasin sites showed overall gross margins of P29,703 and P3,122, respectively, for the protected cropping. Despite the second crop failure, the high 1-year gross margin in Cabintan was indicative of the viability of the protected cropping system over the long-term period.

Indicator: Integrated strategies for management of bacterial wilt in potato developed through assessment of more-resistant varieties, expansion of existing certified seed program and refinement of biofumigation technology

Performance: More-resistant varieties are still being assessed. Many farmers have adopted biofumigation and the process is being refined through farmer feedback. The existing seed certification system has not been expanded but a review is underway to try and identify how to accomplish expansion.

Indicator: Current soil fertility status and management practices in vegetable crops in the southern Philippines evaluated, and promising integrated soil and crop nutrient management practices identified for field testing

Performance: Scientists analysed 100 soil samples and 300 plant tissue samples for nutrient levels across five replicated trial sites in the southern Philippines. These five sites tested various alternative fertiliser regimes compared with standard farmer practices, and results showed that farmers are not selecting the most cost-effective method of nutrient application for a range of vegetable crops.

Indicator: Economic potential for sea-ranching of sea cucumber evaluated at multiple sites

Performance: Data collection on critical biological and economic components of sea-ranching at four sites in the Philippines have been used to develop a bioeconomic model for a range of production alternatives. Project partners at a recent workshop in Manila tested the model and it is now receiving odifications that will add significantly to its utility and applicability.Principal among the modifications is the incorporation of a range of risk scenarios.

Indicator: Soil conservation and water management improvements implemented at the farm scale in corn–cassava cropping areas of the two watersheds in Bohol Island, Visayas

Performance: Field investigations of two watersheds on Bohol Island (Inabanga and Abatan) have identified promising soil conservation and water management practices for increasing the productivity of corn–cassava-based cropping systems and sustaining soil fertility.

Indicator: Capacity of Philippine Weather Bureau improved to develop and deliver seasonal climate forecasts for Philippine farmers, and potential economic value for farmers determined

Performance: The Philippine Weather Bureau capacity has been improved through participation in workshops, conference presentations and project implementation. Case studies demonstrated potential economic value (+/–) for farmers in growing rice or maize.

Achievements from the 2009-10 Annual Report

Landcare has been successfully adapted at three sites in Mindanao. The sustainability of this success has not been properly examined and is not yet fully understood. Current research in the Philippines aims to assess and enhance the sustainability of the approach at the three sites and test the landcare approach at new sites with differing needs, such as Bohol, to complement ACIAR work there on watershed management. The project made good progress during the year under review, with all six of the major milestones being achieved either by the end of the project term on 30 June 2009 or during the 6-month no-cost extension to December 2009. A major focus has been to encourage the evolution of the Landcare Foundation of the Philippines Inc (LFPI) so that it can take on the defined roles and responsibilities for the broader development of landcare in the Philippines. After an internal restructuring of LFPI between July and September 2009, an ACIAR scoping study undertook an evaluation of its intutional health and of the landcare movement in general. The findings of this study formed the basis for an extension of the project.

The extension commenced in January 2010, and all but 2 of its 13 major milestones were on track at the end of 2009–10. All three regional programs continued to achieve outcomes in scientific benefits, capacity building and community-level impacts, although the extent of these varied across sites. The perceived success of landcare in conflict communities was instrumental in LFPI being given an extension of the United Nations Development Programme Act for Peace Program in using the landcare approach to improve livelihoods in two conflict communities of Koronadal City in South Cotabato. In addition, a special study of the economic impacts of landcare in Boho l (commenced during the earlier phase of the project in 2006) was completed and published as a University of Queensland PhD research thesis in July 2009.

A complementary small research activity seeks to improve development outcomes for smallholder farmers through closer collaboration between landcare and the ACIAR horticulture projects underway in the Philippines. Achievements to date include development of a Landcare Coordinators Network to improve coordination of technical inputs between sites, and the holding of special meetings with landcare stakeholders at Claveria, Lantapan, Ned, Pilar and San Isidro to better clarify the needs of market clusters and landcare members. The project team has developed a program of cross-visits between sites for farmers and local technical support personnel, and has also introduced a training program template for new scaling up of sites to maximise impact from technical inputs and crossvisits. The team has also established a collaborative network between the Landcare Coordinators Network and the Philippines Horticulture Manager attached to the ACIAR horticulture projects, to improve information exchange and collaborative project activities between landcare coordinators and horticulture project personnel.

Two major horticultural initiatives continued during the past year. Both initiatives focus on the southern Philippines. The first targets why the attempts during the first year of project implementation failed to achieve the cooperation of a commercial collaborator who exports ‘Solo’ papaya to China and/or Japan. The project is now achieving success with a domestic supply chain where papayas come from South Cotabato and are distributed in various supermarkets in Metro Manila and outlying provinces.

Control of the fungal disease phytophthora in durian and jackfruit has been greatly helped by simple interventions and getting growers involved. The project team has also worked with the fruit company Del Monte to help with disease problems of papaya, especially bacterial crown rot. On Samal Island off the coast of Mindanao, progress is taking place in developing and evaluating sustainable practices for the integrated management of mango pests, and field and postharvest diseases in mangoes.

Vegetables protected with bamboo and plastic structures are thriving at project sites in Leyte. A bamboo house-type structure built at a farmer’s site in Cabintan produced broccoli and cabbage crops that yielded 5.8 and 3.6 t/ha, respectively, compared to zero yields from outdoor-grown crops. The crops produced under the structure also showed a positive gross margin in the economic analysis. Tomatoes were grown at another site at Maasin, where a plastic-covered, bamboo housetype structure was built, and the crop grown was virtually disease free compared with a significant Alternaria fungus infection on outdoor-grown plants. Based on the larger plants and increased fruit set, the crops grown under cover appeared to have a potential yield about double that of outdoorgrown crops.

Another component of the project seeks to integrate soil and nutrient management into vegetable cropping. The results of a soil survey completed in June 2009 formed the basis of the characterisation of various soils planted to vegetables in Leyte and various areas in Mindanao, as well as the formulation of treatments used in the subsequent field trials. More than 100 soil samples were analysed in the various sites for their physical and chemical characteristics. Research programs developed at the five sites focused on developing fertiliser strategies based around implementing the most cost-effective method of supplying the nutrient requirements to the target vegetable crops.

On Bohol Island there are opportunities for farmers to reduce some of the negative aspects of agricultural activity through introduction of conservation techniques, undertaken in association with existing landcare approaches that provide training and encourage adoption. Building on the experience and expertise developed through earlier ACIAR projects, the project is promoting the adoption of improved farming on highly erodible soils on steeply sloping uplands in two upper watersheds. Significant progress has been achieved towards meeting key objectives of this project. In the establishment and ongoing maintenance of farmer-managed demonstration sites, local municipalities in the San Isidro and Inabanga watersheds have provided consumables such as fertiliser, seed and cuttings. ACIAR project partners provide instrumentation, training and soil management/cropping expertise. The establishment and ongoing community management of these sites have assisted in the process of improving adoption by provincial farmers.

Project training staff and local municipal agriculture officers have estimated that approximately 50% of the farmers in the upper Inabanga watershed are now adopting improved farming practices as a consequence of project training and dissemination of project results, cropping advice and supply of planting materials. The improved practices include use of contour cultivation, natural vegetated strips (with and without crops), minimum tillage planting, cover crop plantings, alternative cropping including vegetables, natural residue and/or plastic mulching, and accelerated composting and vermiculture (worm farming) techniques. The project team is now undertaking agroeconomic data analysis and developing soil–water monitoring budgets to identify the farming practices and crops that were most successful in improving economic returns versus those that were most successful in improving soil and reducing water losses.

Fisheries in the Philippines are divided primarily into municipal and commercial sectors. The municipal sector comprises fishers with vessels up to 3 gross tonnes and those who fish without vessels; both these groups are allowed to fish in areas up to 15 km from the coast known as municipal waters. A handline fishery using bancas (more commonly known as pump boats) is a major and growing component of both municipal and commercial fisheries. These vessels are generally on or near the weight limit of the municipal fisheries regulations. It is estimated that there are more than 3,000 of these vessels, equating to tens of thousands of fishers. Large tuna (such as yellowfin) are their main target species. Much of the handline fishery can be categorised as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU)—its fishing vessels venture into international waters and it is estimated that about 50% of the catch is taken in the waters of Indonesia, PNG and other neighbouring countries. This has created considerable tension and mistrust in the region. This project is now into its second year, carrying out a preliminary investigation of the nature of the handline fishery in the Philippines, including the IUU components, and establishing benchmarks between the existing legal framework for the handline fishery against national and international obligations and best practice.