Agronomic assessment of soil conservation techniques used in upland farming systems of the Philippines: report on a visit to the Philippines 11th-25th March 1994.

Six of the upland sites associated with ACIAR Project no. 9211 "Socio Economic Evaluation of Soil Conservation Technologies for Upland Farming Systems in the Philippines" were inspected during a visit to the Philippines to assess the agronomic impact of the soil conservation technologies being used. All sites had reasonably similar biophysical resources in terms of rainfall, soils, slopes and cropping patterns. Corn was the major wet season crop grown with variations, depending on access to markets, in the secondary crop or the crop grown during the drier season. At all sites, variations on the "alley cropping technology" had been promoted or extended as the major strategy for soil erosion control. Uptake of the strategy varied across sites apparently related to intensity of farming. At the Guba and Argao sites in Cebu Island [Philippines] where farm size was less than 1 ha and farming was quite intensive, there was a relatively high degree of adoption. Farmers at these sites realized that if they did not take precautions against soil erosion, their farm productivity would decline and they may be forced off their land. At other sites such as Ned in South Cotabato and Bacungan in Davao del Sur farming was less intensive and adoption was low and fragmented. The strategies that have been promoted are in the main, effective both agronomically and physically if adopted as a complete package. This has been demonstrated at the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Centre when the benefits of the SALT [Sloping Agricultural Land Technology] packages are obvious and well documented. Where only components of the strategies are adopted their effectiveness can be reduced. However, it is better to have some component adoption than none at all. Economic incentives that can be generated from by-products from the hedgerows are seen as means of increasing farmer acceptance of the strategies. This aspect as well as others associated with the effectiveness of the technologies are discussed in the report.