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

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

3. Products of Precision Agriculture  To increase production

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

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

6. 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.

7. Resources RICH LAND LABOR FAVORABLE CLIMATE ON-GOING RESEARCH

8. 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%)

9. 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.

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

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

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

16. 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

17. Table 1. Mean rice yields and area in 1999. Country/RegionArea ‘000 ha Yield t ha -1 Yield % Australia14010.1- Asia138,5033.961.4 Philippines3,978 (6.3)* 2.971.3 USA1,4426.634.5 World155,1283.862.4 * Potential rice yield

18. 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 1996-97. ParticularsNo. of Farms Mean NPK Kg ha -1 Yield t ha -1 Yield Gap % 1996 Wet Season (July to October) On-farm trials1761-20-264.16 (1.01)-- Farmer Cooperators 28102-16-233.96 (1.31)4.8 Farmer non cooperators 39117-7-113.56 (0.83)14.4 1997 Dry Season ( January to April) On-farm trials1794-12-316.92 (0.90)-- Farmer Cooperators 28130-11-276.52 (1.02)5.8 Farmer non cooperators 39145-7-134.25 (1.23)38.6

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

20. References  http://www.public.iastate.edu/ ~cfford/342Myth5.htm  http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_01/uk/doss24.htm http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_01/uk/doss24.htm  http://countrystudies.us/philippines/62.htm http://countrystudies.us/philippines/62.htm  http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/agriculture/overview/mi03127pf.htm http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/agriculture/overview/mi03127pf.htm  http://www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/philippines/philippines_economy.html http://www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/philippines/philippines_economy.html  http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/seta/2002/02/21/stories/2002022100280400.htm http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/seta/2002/02/21/stories/2002022100280400.htm  http://www.robot.cs.kobe-u.ac.jp/~botond/ pictures/philip..  http://www.neptunediving.com/.../ about/philippines.php.  http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/ssnm/default.htm http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/ssnm/default.htm  http://www.tropentag.de/2002/proceedings/node102.html

21. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?