CHALLENGES OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES Brenda S. Tubana

1. CHALLENGES OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES Brenda S. Tubana

2. OVERVIEW • Products of precision agriculture • Philippines: Information and basic statistics • Agriculture in the Philippines • Problems in Philippine Agriculture • Challenges and Strategies • Conclusion

3. Products of Precision Agriculture • To increase production

4. Products of Precision Agriculture • To decrease environmental and human life risk

5. The Philippines • Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Phil. Sea and the south China Sea

6. Information and basic figures • The Philippines is an archipelago of some 7100 islands • Total land area: 298,170 sq km, slight larger than Arizona • Climate: tropical marine • Population: 80 million • The population is predominantly rural (57%), with 43% living in urban areas. Employment in the agricultural sector accounts for 44% of the 24-million-person labor force.

7. FAVORABLE CLIMATE RICH LAND LABOR ON-GOING RESEARCH Resources

8. Agriculture in the Philippines • Of the total 30 million ha, 13 million hectares are devoted to agricultural crops • food grain (31%), food crops (52%) and non-food crops (17%)

9. Agriculture in the Philippines • It is the cornerstone of the country’s economy • It employs 40% of the active population of the country (11.9 million in 1999). • Majority of the farmers use simple tools and draught animals.

10. Problems in Philippine Agriculture • Lack of technical expertise knowledge and technology • Landlessness • Most farms are very small • Low and decreasing investment in system maintenance

11. One-third (29.6%) of the children in the Philippines are malnourished 50 % of these children are under three years old 8.4% are below the age of six years (1.1 million) 7 % are 7-10 year old schoolers (465,000) POVERTY LACK OF BUYING POWER Philippines : Low-Income Food-Deficit Country

12. Challenges and Strategies: 1.Reduce yield gaps and increase profit

13. Reduce yield gap and increase profit Site-Specific Nutrient Management • It is an approach to feeding rice with nutrients as and when needed • The application and management of nutrients are dynamically adjusted to crop needs of the location and season.

14. Techniques to match crop needs Nutrient Omission for P and K Leaf color chart for N

15. Improving Land preparation Laser Leveling Draft Animal Reduction in time and water required to irrigate the field

16. Challenges and Strategies2. Bridge knowledge gap and improve technical support • Integrate indigenous knowledge and scientists’ technical knowledge to enhance mutual learning. • Technology delivery system should be reoriented. • Continuous farmer education (FFS – farmer field school and FPR – farmer participatory research) • Effective communication technology • Institutional/policy support

17. Table 1. Mean rice yields and area in 1999. * Potential rice yield

18. Table 2. Mean fertilizer inputs and rice yields in on-farm research trials, farmer cooperators’ field, and non-cooperators’ fields in Central Luzon, Philippines in 1996-97.

19. Conclusion • Economic and environmental benefit of precision agriculture should be brought into the knowledge of the farmers to achieve impact on productivity and profitability.

20. References • http://www.public.iastate.edu/ ~cfford/342Myth5.htm • http://www.unesco.org/courier/2001_01/uk/doss24.htm • http://countrystudies.us/philippines/62.htm • http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/agriculture/overview/mi03127pf.htm • http://www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/philippines/philippines_economy.html • http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/seta/2002/02/21/stories/2002022100280400.htm • http://www.robot.cs.kobe-u.ac.jp/~botond/ pictures/philip.. • http://www.neptunediving.com/.../ about/philippines.php. • http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/ssnm/default.htm • http://www.tropentag.de/2002/proceedings/node102.html

21. THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?