CHALLENGES OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES Brenda S. Tubana Brenda S. Tubana

OVERVIEW  Products of precision agriculture  Philippines: Information and basic statistics  Agriculture in the Philippines  Problems in Philippine Agriculture  Challenges and Strategies  Conclusion

Products of Precision Agriculture  To increase production

Products of Precision Agriculture  To decrease environmental and human life risk

The Philippines Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Phil. Sea and the south China Sea

Information and basic figures  The Philippines is an archipelago of some 7100 islands  Total land area: 298,170 sq km, slight larger than Arizona  Climate: tropical marine  Population: 80 million  The population is predominantly rural (57%), with 43% living in urban areas. Employment in the agricultural sector accounts for 44% of the 24-million-person labor force.

Resources RICH LAND LABOR FAVORABLE CLIMATE ON-GOING RESEARCH

Agriculture in the Philippines  Of the total 30 million ha, 13 million hectares are devoted to agricultural crops  food grain (31%), food crops (52%) and non-food crops (17%)

Agriculture in the Philippines  It is the cornerstone of the country’s economy  It employs 40% of the active population of the country (11.9 million in 1999).  Majority of the farmers use simple tools and draught animals.

Problems in Philippine Agriculture  Lack of technical expertise knowledge and technology  Landlessness  Most farms are very small  Low and decreasing investment in system maintenance

Philippines : Low-Income Food-Deficit Country  One-third (29.6%) of the children in the Philippines are malnourished  50 % of these children are under three years old  8.4% are below the age of six years (1.1 million)  7 % are 7-10 year old schoolers (465,000)POVERTY LACK OF BUYING POWER

Challenges and Strategies: 1. Reduce yield gaps and increase profit Factor StrategiesImplication Crop Establishment Manual to machine transplanting; direct seeding Reduced labor, improved timeliness Water Management Less-available water-Better maintenance of irrigation & drainage structure; shifts to low water levels Less water use, more area irrigated, higher water use efficiency Nutrient management From blanket to site-specific, need-based nutrient management Less fertilizer cost, same or higher yield, better quality water and soil Grain quality Manual to mechanical post- production operation Timeliness, better grain quality, higher price and profitability

Reduce yield gap and increase profit  It is an approach to feeding rice with nutrients as and when needed  The application and management of nutrients are dynamically adjusted to crop needs of the location and season. Site-Specific Nutrient Management

Techniques to match crop needs Leaf color chart for N Nutrient Omission for P and K

Improving Land preparation Laser Leveling Draft Animal Reduction in time and water required to irrigate the field

Challenges and Strategies 2. Bridge knowledge gap and improve technical support  Integrate indigenous knowledge and scientists’ technical knowledge to enhance mutual learning.  Technology delivery system should be reoriented.  Continuous farmer education (FFS – farmer field school and FPR – farmer participatory research)  Effective communication technology  Institutional/policy support

Table 1. Mean rice yields and area in Country/RegionArea ‘000 ha Yield t ha -1 Yield % Australia Asia138, Philippines3,978 (6.3)* USA1, World155, * Potential rice yield

Table 2. Mean fertilizer inputs and rice yields in on-farm research trials, farmer cooperators’ field, and non-cooperators’ fields in Central Luzon, Philippines in ParticularsNo. of Farms Mean NPK Kg ha -1 Yield t ha -1 Yield Gap % 1996 Wet Season (July to October) On-farm trials (1.01)-- Farmer Cooperators (1.31)4.8 Farmer non cooperators (0.83) Dry Season ( January to April) On-farm trials (0.90)-- Farmer Cooperators (1.02)5.8 Farmer non cooperators (1.23)38.6

Conclusion  Economic and environmental benefit of precision agriculture should be brought into the knowledge of the farmers to achieve impact on productivity and profitability.

References  ~cfford/342Myth5.htm       pictures/philip..  about/philippines.php.  

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