0447-B5
Leonida A. Bugayong and Wilfredo M. Carandang 1
The Philippines' community-based forest management (CBFM) programme is implemented in degraded upland areas where some 18 to 20 million forest-dependent people are found. Agroforestry and tree planting have been introduced to the farmers in these areas to arrest destructive "kaingin" making or slash-and-burn farming practices.
This paper traces the evolution in terms of interventions and plant succession patterns in the CBFM site, describes the agroforestry system and interaction of its components, and summarizes the soil fertility and erosion status of the site by agroforestry practice (farm forest, terraces, grass fallows). It also brings to light some of the lessons learned from CBFM project implementation and agroforestry introduction and adoption.
The Philippines has a total land area of about 30 million hectares (M ha) covering more than 7,100 islands. About 53% (15.88M ha) of the total land area is forestland although only about 5.4M ha have forest cover (Philippine Forestry Statistics 2000). Deforestation continues at an alarming rate of 100,000 ha per year that is blamed partly on indiscriminate logging activities and in part on land conversion for upland agriculture by slash-and-burn farmers. Of the 70 million people in the Philippines, about 18 to 20 million are found cultivating or occupying more than 8M ha of uplands 2 (Guiang 1998).
Government programs in the early 1980s were geared towards containing deforestation by providing upland communities with incentives to participate in growing, instead of clearing, forests. The Integrated Social Forestry Program (ISFP) implemented in 1982 provided long-term land security through 25-year stewardship contracts to qualified forest occupants. The ISFP is one of several people-oriented forestry programs that have been integrated under the Community-based Forest Management (CBFM) Strategy of government, promulgated in 1995 through Presidential Executive Order No. 263.
The ISFP was primarily intended to assist farmers in developing their lands into permanent and productive agroforestry farms. The Philippine government advocated for agroforestry as an alternative to the environmentally destructive practice of kaingin-making or slash-and-burn cultivation by many upland farmers. Agroforestry as a strategy of rehabilitating degraded forestlands was an attempt to address the twin problems of poverty and environmental degradation.
This paper traces the evolution of the agroforestry practices of farmers in a CBFM project site in Northern Philippines. The existing agroforestry practices are described along with results of the soil fertility and soil erosion studies made in the area. The paper attempts to bring to light some lessons learned, issues and recommendations regarding the use of agroforestry as a strategy in rehabilitating degraded forestlands occupied and cultivated by slash-and-burn farmers. It typifies the theme of the World Forestry Congress where forests are the source of life for forest-dependent people who benefit from forest goods and services while rehabilitating them.
An ocular survey of the site was made before transect mapping of the area to determine the land uses, vegetative cover and other biophysical features of the area. Three farms were selected based on the similarity of agroforestry practices and the farmers' willingness that their farms be part of the study. The agroforestry practices of the farmers were analyzed using the farmers' diagrams and descriptions as well as ocular field observations. The history of the farming practices was also based on interviews, secondary data and other reference materials.
Soil erosion plots were established on the three farms and soil samples were taken at the start of the planting season (May) and after the harvest (October). Three erosion plots each were randomly laid out in the farm forest (upper slope), grass fallow (middle slope) and terrace (lower slope) portions within each of the three farms selected. Sheet erosion was measured in the plots using a simple erosion bar. Soil samples were collected following standard soil sampling and analysis procedures. Results of the soil erosion and fertility analyses were subjected to t-tests to determine significant differences among the agroforestry practices.
The area is located within Barangay Fernando, Municipality of Santo Tomas, La Union, Northern Luzon, Philippines, between 120o16' and 120o35' longitude and 160o15' latitude. Fernando is located at the southeastern part of Santo Tomas. It is adjacent to two other barangays, which are the site of the government's CBFM Program and used to be under the ISF Program. The barangay is about four kilometers away from the national highway.
Following Nair's (1985) definition, the agroforestry system practiced by the farmers in Fernando is classified as lowland humid tropical subsistence agrisilviculture. It is composed of both woody and agricultural components in defined spatial and temporal arrangements (Figure 1).
The components of the dominant agroforestry system (AFS) practiced by the farmers are mainly woody perennials (forest and fruit trees) and agricultural crops (rice, vegetables, tobacco) with grass in fallow areas. Woody perennials are raised in farm forests/tree farms on the upper slopes, along farm boundaries, within the home lots, or on the edges of terraces, bunds or alleys. Agricultural crops are planted on the terraces, bunds or paddies found on level areas and along the lower to middle slopes.
Trees are grown for their productive and protective functions (Lasco 1992). Farmers plant trees as sources of timber, fuelwood, and food both for home consumption and for commercial purposes. The protective services of trees include restoring or maintaining soil fertility through nutrient cycling; soil and water conservation; preventing excessive soil erosion; modifying microclimate and providing shade; and as live fence and wind breaks.
Agricultural crops are grown on the terraces mainly for food (rice and vegetables) and cash (tobacco and some rice and vegetables) at subsistence levels. Some terraces along the middle slopes are left to fallow with grass as the main vegetation to allow the soil to regain its fertility and until the farmer has enough resources (labor and capital) to cultivate them again. They do not have specific time frames for leaving the grassy terraces under fallow.
While the woody perennials and agricultural crops individually provide productive and protective services to the farmers, they also interact with each other as components of the agroforestry system. The farm forest/tree farms (FF) along the upper slopes and terrace farms on the lower slopes may be likened to the "payoh-pinugo" (rice terraces-woodlots) system of the Bontoc people where the forests serve as watershed that supplies irrigation water to the terraces below (Celestino and Elliot 1986 and Oloffson 1983, as cited by Lasco 1992). The woody perennials in farm forests may conserve and sustain water supply as a watershed while preventing massive soil erosion and landslides that would otherwise adversely affect the terraces below.
In turn, the terraces (rice (RT), vegetables (VT) and tobacco) provide short-term economic services to the farm forests through the cash income that allows the farmers to continue maintaining the forests instead of cultivating the upper slopes for agricultural crops as they used to do. However, the forests can also provide economic benefits in the long-term with the cash income from products that will be sold and provide additional financial capital for the farmers to improve terrace farm productivity.
The terrace farms interact with fallow areas also through the short-term economic benefits from the terrace products that allow the farmers to leave the fallow areas to regain soil fertility. Grass fallows (GF), in turn, provide ecological benefits through improved soil fertility in the long run that would increase farm productivity once they are again cultivated. Grass in fallow areas also helps prevent excessive movement of soil down to the lower terraces. Some fallow areas provide grass for livestock (grazing or cut and carry) that some farmers raise for food and cash income.
Figure 2 presents the sequence of land uses and plant succession patterns based on secondary information and informal interviews with residents and project staff. The figure (patterned after Mallion et al. 1993) outlines how the present agroforestry system in the site evolved through time.
The hilly areas used to be covered with old growth forests as historians observed in the 1700s until the 1940s when the Second World War broke out and people sought refuge in the forests. After the war up to the 1950s, the logging industry boomed as efforts to rebuild war-damaged infrastructure and houses stepped up (History of La Union, 2000). The hilly lands of La Union were not spared from logging activities, as these areas were relatively accessible. The logged over areas were a magnet to slash-and-burn farmers driven from the lowlands due to increasing population and scarcity of land.
From the shifting type of farming, the occupants eventually practiced sedentary farming, as open uplands became scarce. While the uplands were being converted into kaingin farms, the lowland areas were being cultivated through terrace farming. Some farmers say that the rice terraces of the mountain farmers in the nearby Cordilleras might have influenced hilly land terracing in La Union. This was an adaptation to the predominantly hilly terrain of La Union where most of the soil types are inherently erodible.
Tobacco production started in 1791 when the Spaniards established tobacco monopoly in the country. Along with tobacco, the province is known for its production of rice, vegetables, root crops, sugar cane and fruit crops that are mostly grown in the lowlands and terrace farms since time immemorial.
The degraded public forestlands in the hilly barangays of Santo Tomas was a major reason for its selection in 1981 as a forest occupancy management (FOM) project site by the then Bureau of Forest Development and now Department of Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO report, undated). Primarily aimed to reforest the severely degraded uplands, the FOM project provided technical assistance, seedlings, and training on nursery establishment and other forestry-related activities to the forest occupants. The project introduced the planting of fast-growing and exotic trees (Tectona grandis and Leucaena leucocephala) along the upper slopes of the forestlands in Fernando.
Alley cropping system or commonly called Sloping Land Agricultural Technology (SALT) was introduced to the farmers in the 1980s. However, the farmers soon found it too laborious to maintain the hedgerows and alley crops. Leguminous tree species were edible to some animals and livestock and the hedgerows became nesting grounds of snakes and rats that damaged the crops in the alleys and lower terraces causing the farmers to cut down the tree hedges (Ridual pers. comm. 2000).
While the SALT technology, which was touted as the agroforestry technology of government, failed to prosper in the site, the planting of tree crops on the upper slopes flourished. Its continued adoption was mainly due to the free seedlings initially provided by DENR, the low inputs in terms of labor and capital required from the farmers, and the expected future income to be derived from the trees. After planting the seedlings, there is little maintenance except for some brushing when the weeds become overgrown during the rainy season. The farmers realized that the future economic returns from the tree crops they raise will be substantial and they can look forward to this given the rising prices of scarce wood products in the market (Ridual pers. comm. 2000).
During the course of project implementation, various soil and water conservation measures were also introduced to the participants through training modules, cross-farm visits and demonstration farms. Some of these are enrichment planting, hedgerows, boundary planting, composting, contour and drainage canals, balabag, riprap and rockwalling.
The period from 1980s to 2000 saw the planting of fast-growing (Gmelina arborea, Acacia auriculiformis, etc.) and premium species (Pterocarpus indicus and Swietenia macrophylla) not only along the upper slopes but along farm boundaries and within homelots. In a number of farm forests, banana (Musa spp.), mango (Mangifera indica) and other fruit trees, molave (Vitex parviflora), ipil-ipil, kakawate (Gliricidia sepium), shrubs, bamboos, and other agricultural crops are found growing in between or along edges of the planted tree crops. In planting the tree seedlings, the farmers did not totally clear the areas but rather enriched the existing vegetation except in areas dominated by grass and weeds. Hence, there are monocrop (single tree species), multicrop (multiple tree species), multistorey (multiple species and layers or storeys) blocks within the farm forests of the project participants.
Because of the positive effects of the farm forests in project participants' upland areas, the neighboring farmers (both lowland and upland) have started planting woody perennials such as fruit and forest trees in their own farms.
Although agroforestry practice was established in the site, the plant succession pattern continues to evolve. The entry of the CBFM project led to two major land-uses: agroforestry and kaingin-making. On one hand, the agroforestry system is headed towards diversification of species as more and more tree species are being raised in farm forests along with other indigenous species and undergrowth. On the other hand, the kaingin farms not covered by the project but are adjacent to the site have yet to reach the same pattern of plant succession. Continued burning in many of these kaingin farms is not conducive to natural plant succession where pioneer species can be taken over by climax species through time.
The farms have sandy clay loam (FF and RT) and clay loam (GF and VT) soil types. Fertility of the soil samples are all within acceptable standards (except for soil nitrogen which was very low) although some variations are observed among the 4 AFS components.
Soil pH ranges from 5.82 (medium acidic) to 6.07 (slightly acidic). OM is relatively high (3.71 to 4.29 %) while available P ranges from 14.32 ppm (RT) to 26.24 ppm (GF). Exchangeable K at the GF (0.32 me/100g soil) and VT (0.41 me/100g soil) are lower than at the FF (0.60 me/100g soil) and RT (0.58 me/100g soil). CEC ranges from 33.46 (FF) to 36.96 (VT) me/100g soil).
Slight changes in soil characteristics were observed in all practices before planting and after harvesting. Overall soil pH, which became slightly more acidic (6.1 to 5.82), OM (3.53 to 4.21%) and N (0.18 to 0.23 %) increased, available P decreased (23.62 to 18.6 ppm), exchangeable K decreased (0.54 to 0.42 me/110g soil), and CEC increased (33.98 to 36.99 me/100g soil). In terms of depth, mean soil pH increased (5.95 to 5.98), OM (4.19 to 3.55 %) and N (0.23 to 0.18 %) decreased, P increased (20.21 to 22.01 ppm), K decreased (0.55 to 0.41 me/100g soil).
Mean sheet erosion was highest in the farm forests (26.62 tons/ha) followed by vegetable terraces (15.66 tons/ha) and grass fallow areas (15.40 tons/ha). Only farm forests and grass fallows significantly differed in terms of average depth of erosion and mean sheet erosion. The high erosion rates in farm forests are attributed to the slightly steeper slope of these areas and the gaps in the canopy because the trees are too young to have closed crowns. However, these erosion rates are less than those reported in many upland farms nationwide.
The study shows that the development of agroforestry practices in the CBFM site was dictated mainly by the socioeconomic needs of the people and secondarily by environmental concerns. The people had to plant trees in the upper slopes that became the farm forests in compliance with the requirements of their tenurial instrument and by the future economic returns from the grown trees. However, adoption of alley cropping or hedgerows was discontinued because it was time consuming and laborious for these cash-strapped farmers.
It will take more training and further technical assistance for the farmers in this CBFM site to improve their farming practices and make greater inroads towards rehabilitating the degraded upland environment. Government technicians can introduce more indigenous tree species, use of organic fertilizers and more farmer- and environment-friendly technologies to further reduce soil erosion and use of inorganic inputs in the farms. Policies geared toward strengthening the people's organization in the community in terms of technical forestry planning, implementation and financial management skills are needed.
Bugayong, L.A. 2002. Assessment of an Agroforestry System in a Community-Based Forest Management Site in La Union, Philippines. Ph.D. Dissertation, UPLB College, Laguna.
Guiang, E. 1998. The State of the Philippine Uplands: Scanning the Development Context at the National Level. In Pursuing Development in the Uplands: Contexts, Issues, Initiatives. Proceedings of the Regional NGO/PO Roundtable discussions on Upland Development. UNAC, Quezon City.
History of La Union. 2000. Provincial Anniversary Publication, La Union, Philippines.
Lasco, R. 1992. Fundamentals of Agroforestry Syllabus. UPLB, College, Laguna.
Mallion, F.K., H.A. Francisco and M.A. Gagalac. 1992. Evolution of dominant forest-based cropping systems in Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve. CIDA-UPLB Project, College, Laguna.
Nair, P.K.R. 1993. An introduction to agroforestry. Kluwer Academic Publishers. Netherlands.
Philippine Forestry Statistics. 2000. Forest Management Bureau, DENR, Quezon City.
Ridual, R. 2000. Personal communication on CPEU-CBFM project history, issues, and concerns in La Union, Philippines.
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the functional interactions among the major components of the agroforestry system in Fernando, Santo Tomas, La Union, Philippines
Figure 2. Development of agroforestry in the land-use and plant succession patterns in Fernando, Santo Tomas, La Union (adapted from Mallion et al. 1993)
1 Forestry Development Center, UPLB College of Forestry and Natural Resources, College, Laguna, Philippines 4031. [email protected]
2 Uplands are areas with 18 percent slope or higher that are declared as forestlands under Philippine Forestry Laws.