Sustainable Rice Production in Rural Philippines: Localized Case Study in Gonzaga, Cagayan

Even though I’m back in town, I feel like this project has only begun. After our vacation around Luzon a bit, I came back to the States and visited my family for a while, then moved back to Williamsburg. Now I have to start preparing for a Charles Center research fair in September! Almost all of the data still needs to be coded in a format to run through a statistical analysis program, then analyzed and figured out. I’ll probably still have to do some more background research because things aren’t quite what I thought they’d be in the field. Then I need to figure out how to make this project into an official independent study for my Environmental Policy major so I can get credit and graduate this year. Oooooh man I have a lot to do. I will post some more pictures though, now that I’m back in range of such a sweet internet connection.

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Click on the pictures/link to see the whole thing.

• The beauty of Gonzaga’s rice fields and the Sierra Madre mountains.
• The research assistants from Cagayan State University.
• Proud after planting a field of rice.

We were supposed to have finished our surveying by now, but we still have two barangays left to go. We will hopefully finish these on Wednesday of next week, and spend the interim days entering vast amounts of data into the computers. As of right now, we’re focusing heavily on the fisherfolk because the Municipal Planning and Development office will use this data for their coastal resource management plan. Then we will finish up with the farmers and begin analysis. As of right now, we have upwards of 250 surveys.

Yesterday we hosted a little shindig at STR, the river resort/park in town on the Wangag River. This was to say thank you to the research assistants for all their hard work the past few weeks. A few days ago, though, Josh’s cell phone broke and we could not get ahold of the students to let them know for sure about the party. We got there with no food or drink, an hour late, because we didn’t expect them to come. But they did! It turned out to be a lot of fun after we got food and snacks and drinks and videoke. Women don’t really drink around men here, but I did at this party. It’s expected and somewhat excused for me because I’m an American woman (and we have reputations worldwide). I still think a few of the other girls felt uncomfortable. Anyway, there’s no other way to learn about a culture in such detail than to just partake, and it’s been a wonderful immersion experience.

Speaking of culture, I’ve been noticing quite a few traits that aren’t… quite what I’m used to. Sometimes I get frustrated, but really, I’m finding out that this is why this country and everyone in it seems so much more relaxed than Americans. Here we go:

1. Time is not an issue. If you’re supposed to be at work at 8:00, 9 is ok too. This applies to the research students, driver, respondents to the survey, and even us. We can show up whenever we want, and it’s no big deal. No explanation necessary.

2. Concepts that we take for granted are not really applicable here. For example, most Americans could give you a rudimentary definition of what organic farming is. Here, though, people just do whatever they’ve been doing for ages. “Organic” is not really a movement or fad mindset like it is in the States. However, we are seeing a very real concern for environmental issues here from farmers and fisherfolk, who act with caution in areas such as deciding how much pesticide to spray. Also, the activist vein runs deep here, and almost everyone is very involved in community organizations. This is wonderful – but I digress. Anyway, I thought this would hinder the surveying process a bit, but it’s been fairly smooth so far.

3. Eating occurs more often here than what I’m used to. And it’s all carbs and softdrinks. I’m packing on the pounds. And of course I’m not going to decline food because that would be impolite, by Filipino and American standards both. So, I try to eat fresh foods for the meals that we cook ourselves and can control, but the many merienda (snack) breaks include babinka (sweet rice cake things), sweet cassava roles (a root vegetable), mayonnaise sandwiches, or barbecued fat chunks. There are many delicious healthy things to eat here, too, don’t get me wrong. I just wish I don’t have to eat as much.

4. Exercising is not a concept here, and I see why. It’s way too hot. But still, if I were to put on my running shoes right now, I would probably collapse from the heat, get terribly sunburnt, and be stared at and asked tons of questions pretty much along the lines of, “are you crazy? Why are you in the sun? Where are you going? Why are you running?” Even if I just go for a walk, it’s the same idea. Why would anyone want to exercise or burn calories? Obesity is obviously not a problem here. Just for me.

Other than surveying, I’ve been having an adventurous few days including snorkeling (and getting stuck at low tide) at a coral reef in one of the local Marine Protected Areas where we were surveying fishermen. Beautiful, untouched, and quite painful to encounter directly. I’m still nursing scrapes, cuts, bruises, and other injuries from trying to get out of the reef with only a foot of water. I guess that’s what you get when you encounter true wilderness, which much of Gonzaga still is.

 I spent my Sunday morning planting rice for the Dela Luna family farm in Barangay Progressive. Mr. Dela Luna had been interviewed for the survey, and had a lot of interesting perspectives and answers to the questions. He sent his daughter, Marvi, over later with some purple organic rice so we could give it a try for dinner, and then invited us to help plant just for the experience. So, Saturday morning, we got up early, put on long sleeves, shorts, SPF 50, sunglasses, hats, and flip flops, and walked on over to their house. On the short walk to the Dela Luna’s farm plot, I learned a lot. The land area that you see while walking around here seems like it would be one big farm, with many small divisions made by mud barriers to walk on so you don’t have to step in the muddy paddies. However, Mr. Dela Luna explained that farm areas are getting more and more split up between families so that every child has a farm plot when they get old enough. Therefore, each family really only owns one or two of the little square paddies in the vast expanse of farmland you see. The only division between farms is the little 2-foot wide mud walkway. The smaller farm area is usually enough to make a portion of a family’s livelihood, but not always anymore since the farms are decreasing in size.

So, the way they plant rice around here is that you plant a small area of seeds, let them grow for 20something days, and then hire a bunch of folks to come out and pull up all the seedlings out of the mud and make little bundles. Then you replant all the little seedlings with more space in between each plant. Since Mr. Dela Luna was using certified seeds, three little grassy stalks when into one hole in the mud. He said that if he were using hybrid seeds, only one stalk would be planted at a time. Anyway, so our job was to take the bundles of seedlings and replant. It took 3 American first-timers and 1 experienced Filipino farmhand about an hour to do one of the little plots. I’m sure 4 Filipinos who were used to doing it could have finished in half the time. You hold the bundle of seedlings in one hand and push the little plants right on into the mud with the other, over and over. Our rows were pretty crooked at first, but we got the hang of it and by the end I thought our paddy looked great. We, however, did not look great. We were covered in mud and sweat, and my fingernails and toenails are still black-rimmed because of being in the mud barefooted for so long. You have to do it barefooted or in huge rubber boots because otherwise you’ll just slip all over the place. It feels so squishy and wonderful, but you have to watch out for leeches, spiders, and even cobras in some parts of the Philippines. Golden Cuhol snails are everywhere, but these are one of the worst pests in the area (according to the interviewees from my survey) so you either gather them to kill later or just ignore them. I’ve heard you can eat them, actually, but these had already been sprayed with pesticide so I didn’t want to risk that. You also have to be careful about the sun. Many farmworkers cover head-to-toe in clothes and sun protection, and all you can see of them is their bare feet and a slit in the clothes for eyes. They even stick umbrellas in the mud to work in the shade, which makes for a pretty view of multicolored umbrellas all over the bright green rice fields. Somehow I managed not to get sunburnt, but my back and legs were pretty sore. Whew.

After having a bit of soup that Marvi made for all the workers, we took a walk to the beach and cooled off in the waves for a bit. Then we hiked back to the Dela Luna’s house, showered, and sat down to a huge lunch of rice, fish, a bamboo dish, fruit, Red Horse beer, and a dessert made from avocados. Lunch turned into afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening, and before we knew it, we had been sitting at their table from 12:30-8 PM just drinking and talking about farming, corrupt government officials, and the environmental problems that Gonzaga is facing. Specifically, Taiwanese companies are trying to quarry the Wangag River, which is one of the most pristine in the Philippines and provides most farmers in the area with irrigation, fish, and drinking water. If the quarrying goes through, many people here will be left high and dry (literally) with no livelihood. The issue has been raging for quite some time, and many activists are involved. It is technically illegal to be quarried, but corruption can do wonders. This is one of the most interesting findings of the survey so far, and the longer I stay here and the more people I meet, the more investing I’m getting into this issue and the Gonzagenian’s livelihood stability.

Research has been going well. We’ve visited 15 out of 25 barangays, and have around 150 survey respondents. If we get 50 fisher(wo)men and 250 farmers, we’ll have sampled 5% of each of the fisherfolk and farmer populations of Gonzaga. So that’s what we’re shooting for.

I’ve been spending a few hours each day between visiting barangays putting data into spreadsheets. It’s hard to see any real trends yet, but we have gotten some interesting comments about concern for global warming affecting crop yields. Also, many farmers have pointed out an almost complete lack of supply of organic pest control for farms in the area, but still show interest in using organic practices because, as many have pointed out, it’s cheaper. One interesting farmer said that only lazy farmers use chemicals. On the other hand, we’ve also gotten comments from a completely different perspective. One farmer commented that organic practices are outdated and obsolete, and chooses to use exclusively chemical inputs on his 1.5 hectare rice, corn, and vegetable farm plot.

Besides the interesting, relevant findings from surveying so many people, I’m getting a lot of really funny responses as well. I’m sure some difficulties are resulting from translating and working in 3 languages (Tagalog, Illuko, and English). As I enter data, I can’t help but burst out laughing when someone answers “yes, of course” to “do you own or rent your equipment?” Another favorite response to, “how do you deal with pests?” was “pesticide, catch, hit.”

It’s raining so hard right now. I hope we don’t have to postpone the two barangays tomorrow because some of the roads are not good enough to travel when it’s wet out. I thought we were going to have to postpone Barangay Magrafil this afternoon but the research assistants insisted we go anyway. It was pretty wet and miserable, plus the van leaked. It was one of the more beautiful barangays, though. It was very rural, and I got to see my first real rice terraces since this was getting into the mountainous part of the municipality. All of the rice fields in the lower altitude areas are only semi-terraced or not at all. It’s all still so beautiful.

 This post has nothing to do with research. But I wish I could give a sight, smell, touch, taste, and audio report of the Philippines so you get an accurate perception of this place.

Touch: I can’t even describe how hot it gets here. Think of an August day in Williamsburg, add 10 degrees, take away all the shade trees, air conditioning, refrigerators, freezers, and add water and electricity outages twice a day. Now, try to muster up the energy to do anything except lie around and pant. That’s all I feel like doing. Sometimes we go to the beach or river to swim, but even the water there feels quite tropical. It did actually cool off a little bit the past few days because a rainstorm came through. Everything flooded because it poured buckets for about 24 hours straight. Now the sun is back out and you can feel the steam radiating off all the surroundings. Whew.

Sight: In the background, bluish mountains and volcanoes that look almost exactly like the Appalachians. In the foreground: lush, lime-green rice paddies everywhere. Chickens running around the street, goats and dogs and carabao (water-buffalo type things) roaming, the cutest children in the world running everywhere. Cement and pebble roads. Houses are made out of cement mostly, cinder blocks, nipa (palm), sticks, wood planks, and sheets of tin. Most have windows, but not all. Motorcycles and trikes (motorcycles + sidecars) are pretty much the only form of transportation in town – they’re everywhere.

Smell: Fish market smells, beach smells, rice paddies, cooking smells from people’s yards. Chicken and pig smells. Body odor. Motorcycle exhaust.

Sound: Children playing, our kitten meowing. Our neighbor’s extended family chatting and working in the yard. A noisy litter of puppies lives out back, and a quite vocal pack of chickens and roosters. Birds living in our rafters chirping. Motorcycles revving. Karaoke everywhere, 24 hours a day. Vendors walking down the street yelling to advertise ice cream, or bread, or balut (fertilized duck eggs that people eat with vinegar). Which brings me to…

Taste: Soy sauce, fresh seafood. We ate octopus the other night. All the parts of animals that we don’t eat in the states. Noodles, lots of sauces, hearty beer, horrible gin. Last night I tried beetle nut, which people chew around here as a stimulant (like coffee or a cigarette). It stains your teeth red and is SO BITTER. That was the only thing I’ve actually had to spit out. So much fresh, delicious fruit. Mangos, pineapple, apples, coconut.

This weekend Josh and I are going to take a little trip to the next municipality over and go snorkeling. There’ll be white sand beaches (as opposed to the black sand here) and beautiful reef sites. Can’t wait. Read on to the  next post if you’re interested in research stuff.

So, I arrived in Gonzaga on the morning of Tuesday, June 30^th after all-night bus ride from Manila. Josh and I went to CSU (Cagayan State University) to talk to the CEO, Dr. Ollie. He had been briefed on the project and we talked it over again with him, and about the possibility of getting students as research assistants for the next 3 weeks. He agreed that it would be an important experience for students, and had 10 research assistants (RAs) handpicked for us by Friday. We spent the rest of the week finalizing the schedule of when we were going to each barangay in the municipality of Gonzaga, arranging transportation, making courtesy calls to the mayor and other folks in town, talking with the students, and arranging for snacks every day. We had a busy week. Monday, July 6, we started out to Barangay Progressive for our first interviews! At first there was a lot of confusion, of course, because nobody knew quite what was going on. But now we have a daily routine of going to a barangay, meeting the barangay captain, gathering the survey respondents, the students conduct the interviews, and then we head back to the LGU (Local Government Unit, like the town hall) to compile data. Then we do it all over again in the afternoon. So far, we’ve visited Barangays Progressive, Paradise, Smart, Flourishing, Minanga, Batangan, Pateng, and Isca, and have about 70 respondents of both fisherfolk and farmers. I’m posting a copy of the Farmer survey in Illocano just so you can see it, and once I can upload a copy of the English translation, I’ll post that too. I’m also posting a rough draft of the Fisherfolk survey in English just so you can get an idea of the kinds of things we’re asking. Internet access is pretty difficult over here, so I’ll be in touch with more at a later point!

Survey for Farmers

1. Mano ti tawenmon?

2. Lalaki wenno babai?

3. Malaksid ti panagtalon, ania ti sabali pay a pagsapulam/panggedam?

4. Mano a porsiento ti matgedanmo ket aggapu iti panagtalon?

5. Nakipanggamuloka kadi iti komunidad, politika, wenno social organization? No wen, ania dagitoy?

6. Ania a tukad ti kangatuan a nagun-odmo nga adal?

   1. Saan a nakagteng iti sekundaria

   2. Nakalpas ti sumagmamano a tukad iti sekundaria

   3. Nagturpos iti sekundaria

   4. Nakagteng iti kolehio, ngem saan a nakaturpos

   5. Nagturpos iti kolehio

   6. Nagturpos iti masteral/doktorado a kurso

7. Ayan ti talonmo? (Purok)

8. Kasano ti panangdeskribirmo iti kita ti dagam/talonmo?

9. Mano ektaria ti talonem? Ken bagkagem?

10. Ania dagiti apitmo?

11. Iti napakapas a sangapulo a tawen, dumakkel kadi wenno bimmassit ti talonmo?

12. Ania ti punganay ti danum para talonmo?

13. Estimarenmo iti kaddakel iti apityo tunggal maysa a tawen idi 2000 – 2009

14. Napalabasa a sangapulo a tawen, ngimmato kadi wenno bimmaba ti kaadu ti apitmo?

15. Sandino ti paglaklakuam ti apitmo?

16. Mano ti magastom para kadagiti sumaganad iti tinawen?

    1. Bin-i (bukel)

    2. Abuno

    3. Pestisidio (para igges, para bisukol, para ruot)

    4. Trabaho

    5. Daduma pay

17. Iti napakapas a sangapulo a tawen, dumakkel wenno bimmassit ti pateng dagitoy?

18. Mano nga oras nga agtrabahoka iti talon/bangkag iti makadominggo?

19. Ania a kita ti aruaten usarem?

    1. Pangisagana?

    2. Para imula?

    3. Para burasen?

20. Adda aruatem, wenno bulbulodem?

21. Ania a kita ti bukbukel gumatangmo idi imula?

    1. High yield varieties

    2. Kadaanan/Kadawyan a bin-i

    3. Certified organic

    4. Aglalaok a bin-i

22. Ania a kita it abuno nga usarem?

23. Mano sako nga abuno ti usarem tunggal ektaria?

24. Ania a kita ti peste ti kadadakkelan a problema iti talon/bangkagmo?

25. Mano a porsiento ti apitoyo ti dadaelen dagiti peste?

26. Kasano ti panangpataymo kadagiti peste?

27. Ania a kita ti pestisidio ti us-asarem?

28. Kasano ti kaadu ti pestisido nga usarem kada ektaria?

29. Kunaem kadi a ti panagsalaknib iti aglawlaw wenno environment ket importante? Apay?

30. Iti scale a 1 agingga ti 10, kasano ti kaimportante ti natural nga aglawlaw/nakaparsuaan?

31. Ammom kadi a ti talon/bangkagmo ket apektado iti aglawlaw? Kasano?

32. Ammom kadi a ti talonmo ket apektaran ti aglawlaw? Kasano?

33. Ania a wagas ti ar-aramatem tapno makatulongka a mangprotecktar iti aglawlaw?

34. Agus-usarka kadi dagiti sumaganad?

    1. Organiko nga abuno/ganagan

    2. Kadawyan wenno naglalaok a bin-i

    3. Crop rotation wenno mixed cropping

    4. Organiko a pestisido

    5. Panagmula ti kaykayo a manglapped ti panagkurukor ti daga

35. Ania dagiti kadadakelan a problema dagiti mannalon ditoy Gonzaga?

36. Iranggom dagiti sumaganad a problema iti kinaimportante (1 – kaimportante; 5- saan nga importante)

    1. Panagkurukor

    2. Isasagepsep ti salado (apgad) a danum

    3. Kurang a suplay ti padanum

    4. Nakurapay a kasasaad ti daga

    5. Dagiti peste

37. Ar-aramiden kadagiti mannalon ditoy komunidadmo ti organic farming? Apay wenno apay a saan?

38. Ania ti kaykayatmo?

    1. Mabalinmo gumatang iti chemical nga abuno a Php 1000 iti sangasupot WENNO mabalinmo ti gumantang ti organic nga a para Php 1100 iti sangasupot

    2. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti chemical a pesticide ken patayen ti 90% ti peste a bisukol WENNO mabalinmo nga usaren ti organic a pesticide ken patayen ti 70% ti peste a bisukol.

    3. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti ‘high yield’ nga bubukel ken agpiten iti 200 cavans nga irik kada ektatia WENNO mabalinme nga usaren ti ‘traditional seeds’ ken agpiten ti 140 cavan nga irik kada ektaria

39. Ania ti kaykayatmo?

    1. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti chemical a pesticide ken patayen ti 90% ti peste a bisukol WENNO mabalinmo nga usaren ti organic a pesticide ken patayen ti 50% ti peste a bisukol.

    2. Mabalinmo gumatang iti chemical nga abuno a Php 1000 iti sangasupot WENNO mabalinmo ti gumantang ti organic nga a para Php 1500 iti sangasupot

    3. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti ‘high yield’ nga bubukel ken agpiten iti 200 cavans nga irik kada ektatia WENNO mabalinme nga usaren ti ‘traditional seeds’ ken agpiten ti 80 cavan nga irik kada ektaria

40. Ania ti kaykayatmo?

    1. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti chemical a pesticide ken patayen ti 90% ti peste a bisukol WENNO mabalinmo nga usaren ti organic a pesticide ken patayen ti 20% ti peste a bisukol.

    2. Mabalinmo nga usaren ti ‘high yield’ nga bubukel ken agpiten iti 200 cavans nga irik kada ektatia WENNO mabalinme nga usaren ti ‘traditional seeds’ ken agpiten ti 40 cavan nga irik kada ektaria

    3. Mabalinmo gumatang iti chemical nga abuno a Php 1000 iti sangasupot WENNO mabalinmo ti gumantang ti organic nga a para Php 1900 iti sangasupot

41. Mano a panagsanay wenno seminar ti naatendaram mainaig iti sustainable agriculture wenno organic farming?

42. Patien kadi a praktikad ti agaramat ti organiko a panagtalon? Apay wenno apay saan?

43. Umanamangka kadi wenno saan kadagiti sumaganad?

“Siaayatak bayadan ad-adu ti buis tapno surayen dagiti programas iti edukasyon mainaig iti aglawlaw.”

1.  

   1. Permi nga umanamongak

   2. Umanamongak

   3. Agtengtengngaak laeng

   4. Diak umanamang

   5. Ad-adda a diak umanamang

2. Ania a kita ti tulong wenno suporta nga ipaay ti Gobierno Lokal ti Gonzaga kadagiti mannalon iti lugarmo tapno malasatanna dagiti parikut iti aglawlaw?

Fisherfolk Survey
Respondent Profile
What is your age? Mano ti tawenmon?

1. What is your gender?

2. Besides fishing, what are your other sources of income? Ania ti dadduma trabahoyo?

3. What percentage of your income comes from fishing? Ania ti percentage ti matgedanyo ket manipud ti agkalap?

4. Are you involved in any community, political, or social organizations? If yes, what are they?

Kamengyo dagiti politikal wenno sosial nga organisasion? No wen, ania dagitoy?

1. What is the highest level of education that you achieved? Ania ti kangatoan a nasimpa ti edukaysionyo?

   1. Did not attend high school Saanak nagattendar iti High School

   2. Some high school Saanak nagturpos iti High School

   3. Graduated from high school Nagturposak iti High School

   4. Some college Nagattendarak iti College, ngem saanak nagturpos

   5. Graduated from college Nagturposak iti College

   6. Graduate-level education Nagattendarak iti edukasyon iti ngato ti College.

Fishing Profile

1. What species of fish do you typically catch? Ania dagiti typo ti ikkan

2. How many kilos of fish do you expect to catch on a given day?

3. How much money do you expect to sell your catch for on an average day?

4. During what hours of the day do you typically fish?

5. Do you fish from a boat?

6. If yes, do you own the boat, rent, or share it?

7. If you use a boat, what size is it? Is it motorized?

8. What kind of fishing gears do you use?

9. Fish pond?

10. What are your estimated daily costs of fishing?

    1. Fuel

    2. Equipment (nets, lines, bait, etc.)

    3. Labor

    4. Upkeep for boat (estimated)

    5. Others

11. In the past ten years, have you noticed that your typical daily income from selling your fish catch has increased or decreased?

12. Estimate your average daily fish catch in kilograms for each year.

Environment Awareness

1. A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is a special area that is set aside such as on a coral reef where it is illegal to go fishing or do other activities. What do you think about Marine Protected Areas?

2. In the past few years, there has been a lot less dynamite fishing and other kinds of illegal fishing. Why do you think this is?

   1. Most fisher-folk now understand that illegal fishing practices can badly damage habitat for fishes.

   2. Fisher-folk are afraid of using such practices because enforcement is heavy and penalties are stiff.

   3. Fisher-folk are concerned that using such methods socially unacceptable and may reflect poorly on them.

   4. I do not believe that the use of dynamite fishing and of other destructive fishing practices have decreased in recent years.

3. In your community, how would you rank in importance the Coastal Resource Management issues, with one (1) being the most important and five (5) being the least important?

______ Overfishing

______ Encroachment of commercial fishers into municipal waters

______ Erosion of shoreline or freshwater ways

______ Illegal fishing methods

______ Degradation of marine and coastal habitat

1. Do you think most fisherfolk in your community understand and follow environmental laws?

2. Some fisherfolk in Gonzaga are still using destructive fishing practices. Why do you think so?

   1. People in my community do not care about the environment.

   2. People in my community care about the environment, but they do not understand how their actions affect it.

   3. People in my community are not aware of the applicable environmental regulations.

   4. People in my community care about the environment, but place other priorities higher than environmental protection.

3. Do you think it is important to protect our natural environment? Why?

4. On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is environmental protection?

5. Do you think that your livelihood is affected by the natural environment? How?

6. Do you think that your livelihood affects the natural environment? How?

7. What practices are you using to help protect the environment?

Willingness-to-Pay

1. Please indicate your choice in each of the following situations…

   1. You can fish 100% of the barangay waters, or you can fish everywhere except for the 25% that is fragile coral reef

   2. You can catch a very rare fish and sell it for Php90 per kilo or a more common fish and sell it for Php60 per kilo

   3. You can use a fine mesh net that will catch 100% of fish or a wide mesh net that will catch only the largest 50% of fish

Problems and Opportunities

1. What are the biggest challenges facing fisherfolk in Gonzaga?

2. How many trainings or seminars have you attended regarding sustainable fisheries and Coastal Resource Management?

3. Would you support the establishment of a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) in your barangay?

4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?

I would be willing to pay higher taxes in order to support more sustainable agriculture education and training program to help protect the environment

1.  

   1. Strongly Agree

   2. Agree

   3. Neither Agree nor Disagree

   4. Disagree

   5. Strongly Disagree

2. In your opinion, which of the following should take priority in the implementation of the municipal Coastal Resource Management plan?

   1. Habitat protection through the establishment of Marine Protected Areas

   2. Effective solid waste management through segregation and collection

   3. Environmental education to encourage best practices in fishing

   4. Sustainable livelihoods development through skills training

   5. Enforcement of Coastal Resource Management Policies and Ordinances

   6. Other (please list) ________________

aaaah, the numbers got all messed up.

So… I’m fixing to leave in a few days! I’ve been able to use resources at William and Mary during the past few weeks in Williamsburg to do some preparatory research before embarking on this adventure. I’m currently sitting here in my family’s sailboat in Urbanna, Virginia, somehow picking up someone’s wireless internet in the middle of this creek. Naturally, the time is ripe to update the blog.

A lot of my research has mentioned or discussed the Asian rice crisis in 2008, which was when the fragile bubble created by increasing population and stagnated agricultural growth popped. In a nutshell, there was not enough rice last year to feed Asia, specifically the Philippines since they are the world’s biggest rice importer. I’m still unclear about whether there was actually enough rice in supply to meet demand and it was just being smuggled or stored away, resulting in the price being too high for people to afford, or there simply not being enough rice available. In any case, the country is still recovering, and prices may not stabilize until 2010. Despite this crisis, the Philippines is still very dependent on imports (especially from Vietnam), and really needs to reinvent it’s own agricultural system in order to have sustained domestic production to feed its own people. I came across one article basically ranting about how the government’s NFA (National Food Authority) is trying but has been largely ineffective in investing in and creating a sustainable rice policy infrastructure throughout the country in order to grow enough rice, and store and transport it effectively. There are multiple routes this reinvention can take – moving towards a more industrialized, mechanized, and Westernized system is not really the route I’d like to see due to the singular focus on high yield. The high input/output mindset essentially eliminates viewing the farm as an ecosystem. [sidenote: part of the survey will be attempting to determine exactly what the traditional perspective on farmland is, anyway]. A lot of the articles I’ve read call for the need for modern hybrid varieties being made available to small farmers, currently being researched all over the world, specifically by the International Rice Research Institute. I’ve also run across a few regional surveys similar to what we will be conducting determining past and present usage of industrial fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals. These charts and tables are filled with a lot of nitty-gritty numbers that will be helpful to me in the final writeup, but now is not the time or place to share this with y’all. I’ve also hit on a few news articles explaining why some local governments are urging farmers to go organic, mainly to be more independent from fluctuating worldwide fossil fuel prices, which fuel machinery and are used to create chemical inputs (neither of which are used much or at all in organic farming).

Josh and I have a few pretty rough versions of the survey in progress, but I want to finalize it before sharing.

 Wish me a safe trip, and I’ll be in touch after hiking, scuba diving, and beaching in Hawaii!

I bought my plane ticket to Manila and have my itinerary set. Here it is:

Leave home June 23rd, head to Honolulu, Hawaii to hang out for a few days on vacation (don’t worry, Charles Center, this is out of my own wallet!!), and then be on my way to the Philippines. I will arrive in Manila on June 28th. After orienting myself for a day or two, I’ll take a bus north to Gonzaga, which will be about a 12 hour ride. I hope to begin research on July 1st or 2nd, which will mean traveling to about 25 baranguays (which are officially, politically organized neighborhoods) in the span of a month or so. At each baranguay meeting, I’ll be able to meet with the many farmers and fishermen in the Province for direct interviews. I’ll have some help with the interviews from students at the local Cagayan State University (CSU) and the resident Peace Corps volunteer, Josh. Since I’ll be in a very rural area, I won’t have many resources (such as reliable electricity, phone, internet, etc) available to compile and analyze data, but I hope to be able to work on that during the evenings.

On July 30, I’ll be heading out of Gonzaga and traveling around the islands a bit more. I’ll be visiting Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort ( http://www.daluyonresort.com/ ) and Dos Palmas Island Resort and Spa ( http://www.dospalmas.com.ph/ ). I plan to do a bit of scuba diving, then will be flying back home on August 10th.

Lately I’ve been reading some articles about history of rice farming in the Philippines, specific methods used, and legislation concerning agriculture. I haven’t solidified enough of that information to write a blog post yet, but I will try to do that soon!

There’s still quite a bit of time before I leave to go back to the Philippines for my summer research, but I’m so excited, I figured I’d start on my blog early.

 First, let me introduce myself. My name is Christy, and I’m a rising senior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I recieved a summer research grant from the Charles Center (http://www.wm.edu/as/charlescenter/?svr=web), which serves as our college’s hub for research for faculty and students. With this grant, I am traveling to the Philippines to spend about a month gathering data and using the rest of my summer to do background research and compiling my findings. This project is being done in conjunction with Joshua Wayland, resident Peace Corps volunteer and William and Mary alum.

I’m posting a somewhat modified proposal and personal statement that I submitted to the Charles Center so yall can get a more accurate idea of what I’ll be doing this summer.

Rice Production in Rural Philippines: A Localized Case Study of Gonzaga, Cagayan.

A Research Proposal by Christy Ottinger

I plan to conduct original research in the province of Cagayan, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines during summer 2009. This research will be anthropological in part, with an emphasis on environmental studies. The underlying questions for my research are: what are the constraints of sustainable rice production in northern Luzon, Philippines? Other questions I hope to address are: what are the specific agricultural practices being used by rice farmers in Northern Luzon? Why do the people in this community practice agriculture in the way they do? How is Filipino rice farming changing? How are these changes affecting rural populations? How do standards of living compare between rice farmers practicing traditional methods and more modern methods? During preliminary research, a recurring theme of concern was the social stratification present in rural Philippines, and how that relates to farming practices. I will attempt to relate rice farming families’ perceived socio-economic background with production practices. I also plan to do background research on the history of the country’s rice farming, politics affecting farming methods and farmers’ socioeconomic status, and the varying techniques of rice production in the Philippines. By researching the specifics of rice farming in this rural area, I hope to find out more about the sustainability of rice production in the Philippines islands, and how this status affects rural populations.

During my visit to the islands over spring break, I discussed my ideas and concerns with my contacts in the community. They noted the growing usage of fertilizers and pesticides on rural rice farms. This “green revolution” is anything but sustainable, but results in higher short term rice yield. By determining the extent to which middle and lower income farmers in this community are concerned with environmental issues, and how this concern translates into the adoption or rejection of sustainable agricultural techniques, I hope to understand how rice production can be improved for the future of the community and environment.

I developed this idea after taking a course taught by Professor Eric Engstrom in Fall 2008, called Plants, People, and Agriculture. My term research paper for the course addressed differences in agroecological and conventional rice cultivation practices in the Sacramento Valley, California, and sparked my interest in the role of rice as a staple food in a worldwide context. Before beginning research overseas, I will first conduct preliminary research using resources at William and Mary. Once in the Philippines, I will go about gathering information in Cagayan by issuing surveys, conducting interviews with farmers and families, and touring rice farms in northern Luzon. Surveys will include a wide variety of topics, including size of family, ages, education levels, farm sizes, land ownership, water supply, machinery, other equipment, pest control methods, inputs, yields, etc. Only after this information is gathered will I know exactly how it can be presented. My statistics class this semester should help me prepare for this.

Several potential partnerships exist in the Cagayan area, in the form of U.S. Peace Corps volunteer and William and Mary alum Joshua Wayland, an environmental specialist assigned to the Local Government Unit of Gonzaga. Additionally, faculty at a branch of the Cagayan State University system, an academic institution with special expertise in the realms of agricultural education and extension, have shown interest in my proposal.  Interviews and tours can be arranged, translated, and assisted by students at the university. I have already been assigned a faculty advisor, agriculture professor Dominique Castillio. University branch vice president, Perfecto V. Vivit, Ph.D., has formally invited me to do research in conjunction with university’s college of agriculture. Logistically, room, board, and translating skills will be provided by Joshua Wayland. Additionally, I have contacted the Philippines branch of the International Rice Resource Institute, which is a nonprofit organization devoted to “reducing poverty and hunger, improving the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensuring that rice production is environmentally sustainable” (www.irri.org). I plan to make a contact there for the summer, and arrange a visit to the central research and administration facility near Manila.

With this research, I plan to produce a research paper and presentation as an independent study for my Environmental Policy major capstone. It is exciting to me and unique because it will be addressing increasingly demanding issues in our world today including food production and availability, social stratification, and environmental sustainability as affected by agricultural production. These issues are becoming increasingly necessary to discuss and analyze as farming methods change, populations grow, and environmental degradation worsens around the world.

This research is applicable to my academic development by helping me hone my Environmental Policy major to my specific area of interest. Additionally, this would help me apply skills and interests from my anthropology major by allowing me to interact with residents of my area of research. Applying ideals, methods, and concepts learned from each major will be especially important in carrying out this research. Intellectually, it will help me gain valuable, applicable experience with working with people in other parts of the world, since I plan to join the Peace Corps after graduation and focus on developing sustainable farming techniques.

Personal Statement

I have always been interested in preserving and enjoying the natural environment, and was raised with keeping environmental concerns in mind. The sheer amount of environmental crises is overwhelming, and focusing my efforts on just one seems impossible. My spring semester of freshman year, I took a freshman seminar taught by VIMS professor Dennis Taylor, “Idea of Wilderness.” This class prompted me to think about the philosophical issues behind many of the environmental issues we are facing today, and spurred me to start attending the College’s Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) meetings. This was a real turning point for me – I was inspired to explore political, social, philosophical, and ethical approaches to the same issues I had just learned about. I found a connection with the other students in the group, and they showed me that my contributions in the modern environmental movement matter. I became especially interested in SEAC’s food sustainability and campus garden campaign, and eventually took on a leadership role within that group. I currently facilitate weekly meetings and regularly participate in related projects on campus, such as working with the Committee on Sustainability researching more sustainable dining practices on campus. Also during that time, I was introduced to RealFood, Williamsburg’s community co-op. RealFood began as a student project in 2007, and has expanded to include members of the larger Williamsburg community. Its goal is to provide an alternative venue from which people can buy locally grown, organic produce. I currently serve as the financial and membership manager of the co-op.

Another important factor encouraging my interest in sustainable agriculture is that I have worked in the restaurant business for five years, and have seen firsthand the extent to which very few companies control the entire nation’s food supply. These companies and most people I have encountered preparing and consuming food often do not consider food waste, origin of food, recycling packaging, social aspects concerning farmers, among other issues. This lack of knowledge and concern directly encourages unsustainable farming practices in the United States in a variety of ways.After becoming involved in all of these aspects of food production and distribution, I decided to major in Environmental Policy, in addition to my first major of Anthropology. This would allow me to learn more about the specifics of the world food system, and how we can make our relationship with food more sustainable. Fall semester 2008, I took Eric Engstrom’s “Plants, People, and Agriculture” class. I learned about the pressing worldwide issue of sustainably feeding a world population expected to cap around 10.5 billion people. My term paper addressed rice production in the Sacramento Valley, which specifically piqued my interest for this summer’s research. Most influential for me, a class field trip to Charlie and Miriam Maloney’s Dayspring Farm was very inspiring. Meeting these two farmers, learning about their innovative practices, and seeing how involved they are in the community illustrated small-scale sustainable agriculture and excited my imagination for the future.While here at the College, I plan to channel my efforts through SEAC and RealFood to reconnect people on campus and in the Williamsburg community with what they buy and eat, and to have more sustainably grown foods in the dining halls as a default on campus. I am working towards RealFood’s expansion into a permanent storefront and becoming an official nonprofit organization. After I graduate next year, I plan to join the Peace Corps for a standard two-year term to do work with sustainable agricultural techniques in a developing nation. After that, I will attend graduate school to do further research in that area, hopefully with a more domestic focus. Eventually, I want to own and operate my own small, family-run agroecological farm, experimenting with practices gleaned from my experiences and research. Like the Maloneys, I want to be involved in my local community by teaching at a local school, community center, or university, being involved in local co-op, community supported agriculture (CSA), and farmers market. I also want to be involved in forming local policy encouraging local businesses and organizations to serve sustainably raised food. Overall, what I would like to contribute with my research is a small, localized case study of how small-scale agriculture in a developing country can be made more sustainable for the health of the environment and people. This, combined with scores of other research, will help solve the growing problem of feeding an expanding world population.Since I have submitted the proposal, I have been making plans with my contacts in Gonzaga and plan to arrive around the first of July. That will leave me with a few weeks here in America to utilize resources such as Swem (our campus library) and the internet before getting in the field. Also, one last thing. I failed to mention in my proposal that I’m shooting for a really large number of surveys here. Of course, the bigger the number, the more valid research it will be – Joshua seems to think I could get about 500 participants.