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By Conrad M. Cariño Senior
Desk Editor
Can the Ifugao rice farmer be
considered as one of the best, if not the best, rice farmers in the
world? The facts behind the fabled and legendary Ifugao rice
terraces can perhaps answer that question.
Of the several rice terraces in
Ifugao, the Banawe rice terraces are largely touted as the “eighth
wonder of the world.” It is also well known that the Banawe and
other Ifugao rice terraces were built without forced labor, unlike
the other Seven Wonders of the World, which employed slaves.
It is thus fitting that the
Banawe rice terraces be named a United Nations Heritage Site.
The other rice terraces in Ifugao,
which have also caught much of the attention of tourists and
anthropologists are: Batad, Banga-an, Mayo-yao, Hapao, Bacung, Kinga,
Nagacadan, Julongan and Nunggulunan.
While Bontoc also boasts of its
rice terraces, the Ifugao rice terraces are larger in scale.
According to the website of the
Ifugao local government, the rice terraces may have dated back to
the late 16th century or early 17th century. And at one time, it
stretched from Cagayan in the North to Quezon province in the South.
However, the age of the rice
terraces has been a subject of debate, with the Ifugao local
government’s website stating that “there are young and
enthusiastic writers/speakers who say that the rice terraces were
built some 2,000 years ago.”
Age notwithstanding, the rice
terraces are more than a sight to behold and an ancient
monument—they are actually a very functional agriculture and
ecological masterpiece. Likewise, the rice terraces have been
producing rice for centuries, showing that the Ifugaos were able to
maintain the fertility of the rice fields’ soils and even contain
soil erosion.
“Agriculture is an extractive
activity [on the soil], but the rice terraces have been productive
for many centuries. It’s a wonder how the lands [of the rice
terraces] have remained fertile for thousands of years,” said
Rodelio Carating, technical assistant to the director of the Bureau
of Soils and Water Management.
Apparently, the Ifugaos have
proven that they are more intelligent compared with their
counterparts from other local tribes who practiced slash-and-burn or
kaingin farming, which is unsustainable and even discouraged.
“At the most, kaingin farms
last only up to three years. After that, another area must be
cleared for farming,” Cataring said.
Engineering marvel
Cataring said the Ifugaos must be
highly commended for constructing the rice terraces, since they did
not have surveying instruments and modern machinery at their
disposal. Notably, some portions of the rice terraces reach as high
as 4,500 to 5,000 feet.
As to how the Ifugaos built the
rice terraces using mostly crude primitive instruments and without
the aid of surveying instruments is actually thought provoking.
The Ifugao local government’s
website states “it is indeed a wonder how the early Ifugaos, with
only the simplest and crudest hand tools, were able to build the
rice terraces. They were able to cope with the ecological factors,
which they have to interrelate with the social and cultural
factors.”
The engineering feat of the
Ifugaos never escaped the attention of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, which conferred it the “International Historic
Engineering Landmark Award.”
Besides being an engineering
feat, the Ifugao rice terraces demonstrate that farming can blend in
harmony with culture, and more importantly, nature.
Cataring said Ifugao culture
includes beliefs in anitos or gods, who are believed to dwell in
forests, hence the preservation of forests is part of their culture.
And it is from the forests that water for the streams and rivers is
supplied, which feed the irrigation system of the rice terraces.
The Ifugao’s irrigation system
diverts water from rivers and streams, and channels these to the
terraces through a series of dikes and pipes. The pipes can be
bamboo of various diameters, which make sure only the right amount
of water is channeled to the terraces, and that no soil erosion is
caused by excessive water flow.
At the upper point of most
terraces are well-preserved rainforests, the primary source of
water.
So simple yet efficient is the
irrigation system of the rice terraces. But prominent Filipino
biotechnologist Dr. Saturnina Halos labeled it as “advanced.”
Halos is also the chairman of the Biotechnology Team of the
Department of Agriculture.
Harold Conklin, in his
Ethnographic Atlas of Ifugao (Yale University Press), explained that
“for hundreds of years, Ifugaos have diverted stream water for
irrigation up to five to six kilometers. Using the stream’s
current and sheer manpower, they rolled stones and small boulders
from mountaintops and formed these as rock walls to hold
mountainsides and create rice terraces.”
And in an article taken from the
University of California Publications in American Archeology and
Ethnology dating back to 1922, which is posted on the Internet,
Barton R.F. somehow shows amazement on how the Ifugaos were truly
skilled agriculturists, taking note also of their irrigation system.
“In this the Ifugao shows
himself [as] a highly skilled agriculturist. Did he know the reason
for this practice would even be a science one? All year the fields
have been under water. Even after rice harvest the water is not
turned off for the fields would then grow up with dense vegetation.
There has been little action of the air on the soil; little
decomposition of vegetable matters by oxygen. In the mounds the air
has an excellent opportunity to decompose and mellow the soil,”
Barton said.
And for centuries, the Ifugaos
were able to preserve the ecological balance of the rice terraces
vis-à-vis the forests, which they believed is where the anitos
dwelled.
“The rice terraces are truly
multi-functional [because] it’s also an ecological piece,”
Carating said.
Future of farming
In an earlier interview with
Agence France-Presse, International Rice Research Institute
President Robert Zeigler said, “There is just not enough land”
in the Philippines to plant more rice. This partly explains why the
country has to import rice.
IRRI economist David Dawe also
cited that Thailand, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and
Bangladesh have the advantage of having broad deltas and large
tracts of plains that are best for rice farming. Unfortunately, the
Philippines does not have the luxury of having vast plains.
Halos also warned that investing
in traditional irrigated lands require large outlays of capital and
huge amounts of water, which is not sustainable.
“When a water crisis hits the
country, we will suffer a rice crisis because most of the
technologies developed for rice farming are for the lowland
varieties which require large amounts of water,” she said.
However, the Ifugaos demonstrated
that even without access to arable lands on the plains, rice farming
is possible and can be sustained for centuries in the mountainous
regions.
In fact, Halos lists Ifugao
terrace farming as one of the five methods to cultivate rice, the
others being: clearing or kaingin; upland (using rice varieties that
need less water); sabog or broadcast method; and transplanting or
Chinese rice culture.
The only problem of the rice
terraces is its low yields, which according to Halos, is less than
one metric ton per hectare. The variety grown is a red fragrant
variety that takes more time to mature compared to lowland rice.
However, the Ifugaos never
resorted to using fertilizers or pesticides. Compost and animal
manure are among the organic fertilizers used. Nor have the Ifugaos
asked government to build irrigation systems for their terraces,
because their rice fields have a “natural irrigation” system.
Halos even notes that besides its
advanced irrigation system, Ifugao rice terrace farming is also
noted for its pest control, weeding and fertilizing.
To contain pests, Barton observed
that “when infected plants are found, all infected parts are
picked off and burned or left in the hot sun to dry. In case a field
is found to be badly infected, recourse is to have religious
ceremonials. Rice pests are thought to have been originated by one
of the highest deities, Bangauwan, in order to compel men to give
[sacrifice] animals to him.”
The advantage of this organic
type of farming is the soil’s fertility is maintained and even
improved.
“Fertility is rarely a factor
because the Ifugao method of agriculture tends to render a field
more fertile year by year,” Barton said.
Nonetheless, a noted
biotechnologist told The Manila Times that it is possible to
increase the yields of the Ifugao rice terraces by using organic
fertilizers produced with enzymes or co-enzymes and composts; and
seed inoculants that increase the absorption of soil nutrients by a
plant’s roots.
With the alarm raised toward
unsustainable farming practices like the excessive use of chemicals
on farms that can affect the long-term fertility of soils, the
Ifugao method of rice farming deserves study as a solution to attain
rice self-sufficiency, at least for the Philippines.
But the bad news is the younger
generation of Ifugaos are no longer interested in the adopting the
culture of their predecessors, which may result in the rice terraces
having no caretakers. This is very bad news, because the rice that
the Ifugaos grow is now gaining popularity in Europe as gourmet
rice, which can command a high price there.
“The younger generation of the
Ifugaos are leaving for the cities,” Cataring said.
Perhaps these young Ifugaos are
not aware that their fathers, grandfathers and forefathers are one
of the best rice farmers the world has ever seen. Or even the best
the world has ever seen.
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