Rice is the staple food in the Philippines. In a few months, when will arrive the staff and the first students of the school, around 30 hungry filipino stomachs will ask after their daily portions of rice! Even if we wish to diversify and equilibrate the diet with vegetables and fruits, we have to produce our rice and, of course, it will be organic rice. Following the advices of the Department of Agriculture of the City of Sagay, we choose to use for this first non chemical production in that place, the AG-5 variety of MASIPAG rice. MASIPAG means: Magsasaka at Siyentipiko Para sa Pag-unlad Agrikultura we can translate by: Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development.
Why this choice? Because now, more than ever, high yielding varieties of rice have also high needs of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, high production costs and are not well adapted to
small filipino farmers. The MASIPAG technology is an alternative solution for farmers who choose the
organic way of farming, with a choice of dozens of traditional varieties of rice. These rices grow with organic fertilizers and are less sensitive to pests and diseases, especially because of rotation between the different varieties of rice.
Note: as we have not yet any building built, it is difficult to prepare the concoction and to apply the natural farming technique for rice. We consider this first production as a non-chemical step and we will measure the difference of yield when NF technique will be fully applied later.
Preparing the rice field is the first step and means harrowing, leveling and planing, repairing
the dykes, cleaning the canal, etc. :
Harrowing of the rice field mixes the rice straw with the mud. It will be rapidly transformed in organic matter. The carabao is the faithful friend of the farmer during this hard work.
The cleaning of the canal helps to evacuate the excess of water after a big rain. Anyway, in case of big flood the crick becomes a river and
there is no large enough canal to evacuate the excess of water and the young plantations can be rooted up.
The palay is first soaked inside bags submerged in the river during 48 hours, the time to start germination.
At the same time, in a quiet place, a bed is prepared with soil to elevate the bed over the level of the water and covered with old bags before sowing the germinated palay. The seedlings are covered with rice straw and coconut leaves during a few days.
The control of the level of water is essential to not flood the seedlings. A simple half bamboo regulates the level, evacuating the excess of water to the canal.
At day 3, the rice becomes a little green and the cover of rice hull and coconut leaves will be soon taken off for hardening.
At day 8 after sowing, the rice gets his typical luminous green color. A first spraying of an extraction of Makabuhay (Tinospora rumphii) acts as excellent organic insecticide and repellent for snails.
Note: Soon, we will talk about the organic products which replace pesticides.
It is time to level the rice field with the suyod, sort of big rake to push the excess of mud (the suyod is down) in one place to a place where the mud is missing (the suyod is up). One more time man and carabao are working together. This step requires practice and skills from the couple of workers.
Another tool, the planer, sort of suyod without teeth, allows the farmer to finish the planing of the rice field. At the end of this step the level must be the same everywhere and the mixing mud and water homogeneous.
As basal fertilizer, we use temporarily vermicompost made with the organic waste of the market of Sagay City and prepared by the EEMO (Economic Enterprise Management Office) under supervising of Engr. Manuel A. Lopez.
Last step of this episode is the transplanting of the seedlings. Some blades of rice are rapidly planted every 20-25cm. Here at day 21 after sowing.
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