Tabuk City, Kalinga - Obviously there is a conflict between the DENR on one hand and the Department of Agriculture and LGUs here on the other hand due to the efforts of the latter to promote the production of unoy (indigenous Kalinga rice) in the province.
Slash and bum farming or kaingin is a no no to the DENR. On the other hand, in light of the growing demand for unoy rice in the local and international markets, it does not seem to be an issue to the DA and the LGUs that a portion of the unoy produced in the province comes from kaingins.
The two parties had a chance to confront the issue during the training on upland rice-based farming system conducted by the DA, the Agricultural Training Institute and Tabuk City here on February 7 and 8, 2008 which some 50 kaingineros from the upland barangays of this city attended.
With both sides admitting that kaingin is a part of the local culture and as such, would be hard to stop, they agreed to work out a system whereby the harmful effects of the fanning practice will be mitigated.
Peter Warner Manadao, information officer of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) proposed that the farmers identify areas for kaingin purposes and cultivate these on rotation basis to allow for the process of fallowing to take place.
"These areas for kaingin making should preferably be on lower elevations meaning below 1,000 meters above sea level because forests above 1,000 meters are sources of water, serve as habitat for remaining wildlife and help check climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide," Manadao told the kaingineros.
Manadao also called on the rice research agencies of the government to develop a rice variety adapted to lowland farming but with the same quality, glutinousness and yield as that of upland rice "so that we need not touch the forest."
On the other hand, Felicitas Balmores, Tabuk City unoy rice program coordinator, is suggesting an upland rice farming technique calling for the planting of hedgerows and tiger grass to serve as buffer against soil erosion and likewise the planting of fruit trees and coffee in the steep portions of the kaingin.
Both sides and also the kaingineros who attended the training agreed that the watersheds should not be touched at all.
Kalinga Unoy Farmers' Association president Ramon Ambatali agrees with Manadao that areas identified for kaingin purposes should be cultivated in a cycle so that fast growing trees such as paper trees could be planted in the portions first cultivated and harvested in the next round.
He also recommends that the government provides the seedlings and the technology for the planting of fruit trees in areas which have lost their fertility and no longer suited for kaingin farming.
Ambatali sees a bright future for unoy rice because of the simplicity of the technology required and also the rising price of the commodity.
Ambatali who is devoting a one-hectare kaingin to the mimis, one of the two unoy varieties exported to Montana, USA, claimed that unoy rice does not need modern farm inputs and could be grown with just the old indigenous farming techniques.
According to Ambatali, a kilo of any unoy variety sells at as high as P50.00 - 60.00 in the local market which is more than double the price of the new rice varieties. ** By Estamslao Albano Jr.
Slash and bum farming or kaingin is a no no to the DENR. On the other hand, in light of the growing demand for unoy rice in the local and international markets, it does not seem to be an issue to the DA and the LGUs that a portion of the unoy produced in the province comes from kaingins.
The two parties had a chance to confront the issue during the training on upland rice-based farming system conducted by the DA, the Agricultural Training Institute and Tabuk City here on February 7 and 8, 2008 which some 50 kaingineros from the upland barangays of this city attended.
With both sides admitting that kaingin is a part of the local culture and as such, would be hard to stop, they agreed to work out a system whereby the harmful effects of the fanning practice will be mitigated.
Peter Warner Manadao, information officer of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) proposed that the farmers identify areas for kaingin purposes and cultivate these on rotation basis to allow for the process of fallowing to take place.
"These areas for kaingin making should preferably be on lower elevations meaning below 1,000 meters above sea level because forests above 1,000 meters are sources of water, serve as habitat for remaining wildlife and help check climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide," Manadao told the kaingineros.
Manadao also called on the rice research agencies of the government to develop a rice variety adapted to lowland farming but with the same quality, glutinousness and yield as that of upland rice "so that we need not touch the forest."
On the other hand, Felicitas Balmores, Tabuk City unoy rice program coordinator, is suggesting an upland rice farming technique calling for the planting of hedgerows and tiger grass to serve as buffer against soil erosion and likewise the planting of fruit trees and coffee in the steep portions of the kaingin.
Both sides and also the kaingineros who attended the training agreed that the watersheds should not be touched at all.
Kalinga Unoy Farmers' Association president Ramon Ambatali agrees with Manadao that areas identified for kaingin purposes should be cultivated in a cycle so that fast growing trees such as paper trees could be planted in the portions first cultivated and harvested in the next round.
He also recommends that the government provides the seedlings and the technology for the planting of fruit trees in areas which have lost their fertility and no longer suited for kaingin farming.
Ambatali sees a bright future for unoy rice because of the simplicity of the technology required and also the rising price of the commodity.
Ambatali who is devoting a one-hectare kaingin to the mimis, one of the two unoy varieties exported to Montana, USA, claimed that unoy rice does not need modern farm inputs and could be grown with just the old indigenous farming techniques.
According to Ambatali, a kilo of any unoy variety sells at as high as P50.00 - 60.00 in the local market which is more than double the price of the new rice varieties. ** By Estamslao Albano Jr.
