ADOPTION OF WATER SAVING TECHNOLOGIES IN RICE PRODUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINES1 R.M. Lampayan1, B.A.M. Bouman1, J.L. de Dios3, A.T. Lactaoen2, A.J. Espiritu3, T.M. Norte2, E.J.P. Quilang3, D.F. Tabbal1, L.P. Llorca2, J.B. Soriano2, A.A. Corpuz3, R.B. Malasa3 and V.R. Vicmudo2 1International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines 2National Irrigation Administration, Groundwater Irrigation System Reactivation Project, Tarlac, Philippines 3Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Maligaya, Muñoz, Philippines ABSTRACT Traditional lowland rice production in Asia requires much water: it consumes more than 50% of all irrigation water used in the region. Water resources are, however, increasingly getting scarce and expensive. There is a need to develop alternative rice production systems that require less water and increase water productivity. In the last decade(s), researchers have studied and developed a number of water-saving irrigation technologies. Although these technologies have been demonstrated to save water and increase water productivity, their adoption by farmers is low because of a lack of extension. Compared with the heavy investments needed to develop new water resources, the adoption of water-saving technologies by farmers is low-cost and has great potential to save water. Therefore, in 2001, a project was initiated to transfer and promote water- saving technologies among farmers in the Philippines called the “Technology Transfer for Water Savings (TTWS)” project. The first two years of the project were designed as a participatory learning phase with project partners. Controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying was the first matured water-saving technology included in the first phase of the project while the aerobic rice trials-cum-research were also integrated in the project. This paper documents the activities of the TTWS project, describes the results and implications of the first two-year implementation, and explores a future course of action including widespread training and extension of water-saving technologies in the Philippines. INTRODUCTION per capita availability declined by 40-60% between 1955 and 1990, and is expected to Rice is the most important food crop in Asia decline further by 15-54% over the next 35 (IRRI 1997), however, it requires most water. In years (Gleick 1993). The main reasons are fact, the majority of the world’s rice is being diverse and location specific, but include produced under flooded, so-called lowland increasing population growth, increasing urban conditions. Of the roughly 147 million ha rice and industrial demand, and decreasing land, 79 million ha is classified as irrigated availability because of pollution (chemicals, lowland, 36 million ha as rainfed lowland, and salts, silts) and resource depletion. In 13 million ha as flood prone (IRRI 2002). In agriculture, the situation is aggravated by the these ecosystems, rice is mostly grown in dramatically increasing costs for irrigation bunded, puddled fields under flooded development over the past decades. Because of conditions or so-called anaerobic conditions. the combined increasing demand for food with Fresh water for agriculture is becoming increasing scarcity of water, rice producers face increasingly scarce. In many Asian countries, three major challenges: (1) to save water; (2) to 1 This paper was also presented at the International Workshop "Transitions in Agriculture for Enhancing Water Productivity" in Tamil Nadu, India, September 2003. Keywords: water-saving technologies, controlled irrigation, participatory R&D and extension, process documentation 1 increase productivity; and (3) to produce more proposed that save water and increase its rice with less water (Bouman and Tuong 2001). productivity while maintaining high yields In the Philippines, some 61% of the 3.4 million (Sandhu et al. 1980, Mishra et al. 1990, Li ha of rice land is under irrigation, with the 2001). In the Philippines, pioneering research majority of the production coming from the rice has been done by the International Rice bowl in central Luzon (IRRI 1997). Irrigation is Research Institute (IRRI; Bhuiyan et al. 1995, provided by gravity systems and shallow and Tabbal et al. 2002, Tuong 1999, Bouman and deep tubewells. However, the availability of Tuong 2001) and PhilRice (de Dios et al. 2000). water for irrigation has declined in the last Despite the good results obtained in research, decade(s). Water from the Angat reservoir in however, very little attention has been paid to Bulacan Province is increasingly diverted the dissemination, extension and adoption of toward the Greater Manila Area (Pingali et al. the developed technologies among farmers in 1997), water in the Agno River Irrigation the Philippines. At the moment, it is not well System in Pangasinan Province is polluted with known how farmers actually manage their water sediments and chemicals from mining activities and to what extent they are aware of water- upstream (Castañeda and Bhuiyan 1993), and saving technologies. It is generally assumed many irrigation systems were destroyed and that rice farmers in Asia have gotten used to clogged by the earthquakes of 1990 and the the idea of continuously flooding their fields Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991 (NIA 1996). for much of the growing period. This practice Because of its dense population and close is tied up with weed control, ease for proximity to the capital Manila, rice production transplanting and on the belief that reducing in central Luzon is of strategic importance to the amount of water will be harmful to the food security and poverty alleviation. The plant. To bridge the gap between research on government of the Philippines, through its water-saving technologies and adoption by National Irrigation Administration (NIA), is farmers, IRRI, PhilRice and NIA initiated in dedicated to maintaining and enhancing 2001 a special project called “Technology irrigation water availability by infrastructure Transfer for Water Savings (TTWS)” in rice development and maintenance and by the production. propagation of water-saving irrigation The TTWS project is part of the technologies (NIA 1996). international Irrigated Rice Research Consortium The decreasing availability of water for (see IRRC page at the IRRI website irrigated rice threatens food security in Asia in www.cgiar.org/irri) through the Water general and the livelihood of farmers in Workgroup2 and has counterpart activities in particular. Also, the increasing scarcity of water China and India. TTWS was conceived to means that the costs of its use and resource develop and implement a framework for development are increasing dramatically (Postel transfer, adaptation, and adoption of knowledge 1997, Rosegrant 1997). Therefore, researchers on water-saving technologies through the have been looking for ways to decrease water interagency collaboration of the National use in rice production and increase its use Irrigation Administration, Philippine Rice efficiency. Though water use can be optimized Research Institute and IRRI. The first two at scale levels from field to farm, irrigation years of the project are designed as a system, watershed and entire river basins, a participatory learning phase with farmers who fundamental approach is to save water at the are using irrigation water from deepwell and field level where water and the rice crop shallow tubewell groundwater systems in Tarlac interact. This is also the scale level that and Nueva Ecija, respectively. Project site concerns rice farmers most. During the past selection, baseline characterization and needs decades, much research has been done at the and opportunities assessment were conducted field level and various technologies have been in 2001. The actual implementation of the 2 The international water workgroup of the IRRC aimed to (1) obtain insights in current water-saving practices by farmers and identify their behavior in coping with water scarcity; (2) have an inventory of water-saving technologies and identify the most promising ones; and, (3) promote the spread and exchange of information on sustainable water-saving technologies that increase the productivity and value of water, optimize farmers' objectives, and maintain the water resource base. 2 project started in the 2002 at 21 farmers’ fields direction for adaptation and adoption of water- with controlled irrigation (CI) as the first water- saving technologies in rice production in the saving technology in dry season, and aerobic Philippines. rice in the wet season at nine farmers’ fields. In the 2003 dry season, intensive farmer- METHODOLOGY participatory aerobic rice trials were added after successful trials in the 2002 wet season with Project partners and the pilot sites promising varieties. Controlled irrigation or alternate wetting and drying entails an The project is truly a collaborative one irrigation schedule where water is applied to involving a national rice research institution the field a number of days after disappearance mandated to undertake rice research and of ponded water. This technology is a development (PhilRice); the National Irrigation departure from continuously flooding the fields Administration that administers various water and introduces period of dry (aerobic) soil resource systems (NIA), and the International conditions. Aerobic rice, on the other hand, Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Considered as refers to high-yielding rice grown in non- part of the project team are farmer-cooperators puddled, aerobic