Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary. 5 List of Acronyms 7 1. Introduction 9 2. Objectives 10 3. Project Sites Description 11 4. Evaluation of Project Accomplishments 14 4.1. Landcare as an institutional innovation: implementation and lessons learned 14 4.1.1. Project Partners 14 4.1.2. Landcare Activities 15 4.1.2.1. Adoption of soil and water conservation technology 17 4.1.2.2. Nursery establishment, seedling production and out-planting 26 4.1.2.3. Trainings, cross visits and workshops conducted 29 4.1.2.4. Landcare groups organized 33 4.1.3. Lessons learned 35 4.2. Identification and validation of profitable conservation farming practices 36 4.2.1. Documentation of Indigenous use of natural vegetative buffer strip 36 4.2.2. On-farm research to validate and refine low-cost natural vegetative strips on degraded calcareous hillsides 38 4.2.3. Improved NVS-based farming systems: mango trees on the contour strips 40 4.2.4. Soil fertility management on the alleys: maize - rice bean intercropping 42 4.2.5. Documentation of local knowledge on indigenous trees 44 4.2.6. ITS Data analysis and Database development 44 4.2.7. Planting System Assessment for Indigenous Tree study 45 4.2.8. Documentation of Local Ecological Knowledge on wood charcoal making 46 4.2.9. Assessment of coconut-based agroforestry systems 47 4.3. Information, Education and Communication support for technology diffusion 48 4.3.1. IEC for Farmers, LGUs, NGOs 50 4.3.2. IEC for Research 52 5. Conclusions and Recommendations 52 5.1. Scaling up the Landcare approach 53 5.2. Opportunities on Conservation fanning technologies 54 5.3. Future challenges on Information, Education and Communication support 56 6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 59 7. APPENDICES 60 2 Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 Appendix 1. Landcare accomplishment by municipality 60 Appendix 2. Historical Development of BADALFA Landcare Group 62 Appendix 3. The story of Anahaw Alay-Landcare Association 65 Appendix 4. The Collaborative NRM Work in Matalom 68 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Brief description of ICRAF-Visayas R&D sites 13 Table 2. Summary of Landcare accomplishments from March 2001 to July 2003 16 Table 3. Summary of conservation farming technology adoption 18 Table 4. Adoption of conservation farming technology in CBRMP sites 24 Table 5. Adoption of contour farming practices in different CBRMP areas. 25 Table 6. List of species propagated in the different nurseries 27 Table 7. Nurseries established and seedlings propagated 28 Table 8. Summary of training and workshops conducted 32 Table 9. Summary of IEC activities in Bohol and Leyte 33 Table 10. Landcare groups organized in ICRAF-Visayas 34 Table 11. Summary of IEC materials and methods 49 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. ICRAF- AECI research and development framework in the Visayas 10 Figure 2. ICRAF-AECI R&D sites in the Visayas and the Philippines 11 Figure 3. Cumulative uptake of Conservation Farming technologies 19 Figure 4. Extent of contoured farms in sloping areas of CF adopters in San Isidro, Bohol. 19 Figure 5. Development in contoured farms in San Isidro, Bohol 20 Figure 6. Extent of contoured farms in sloping areas of CF adopters in ICRAF sites in Leyte 20 Figure 7. Development in contoured farms, ICRAF-Visayas sites in Leyte 20 Figure 8. Extent of sloping area compared to the total farm area of adopters 21 Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 Figure 9. Contour farming adopters in San Isidro, Bohol 22 Figure 10. Contour farming adopters in Tabango, Leyte 23 Figure 11. Training, IEC and contour farming adoption in Tabango, Leyte 23 Figure 12. Types of trees produced by farmers in San Isidro, Bohol 28 Figure 13. Types of trees produced by farmers in Tabango, Leyte 28 Figure 14. Categories of training and workshop participants 29 Figure 15. Types of training conducted 30 LIST OF STUDY REPORTS Study Report 1. Assessment of NVS for Soil Conservation on Shallow Calcareous Soils in the Central Philippines Study Report 2. Local Knowledge on Indigenous Trees in Central Philippines Study Report 3. Knowledge Assessment of Indigenous Trees in Central Philippines Study Report 4. Planting System Assessment for Indigenous Tree Study (ITS) in the Visayas Study Report 5. Assessment of the Coconut-Based Agroforestry Farming Systems in San Isidro, Bohol, Philippines LIST OF IEC MATERIALS IEC Material 1. FTG Training Manual IEC Material 2. Sustainable Charcoal-Making Brochure (Cebuano dialect version) IEC Material 3. LEK Updates IEC Material 4. NVS Brochure IEC Material 5. NVS Poster (Cebuano dialect version) IEC Material 6. Guidebook on Timber Utilization Policies (Cebuano dialect version) IEC Material 7. Timber Utilization Policies companion Poster IEC Material 8. Research Brief: NVS IEC Material 9. Research Brief: LEK IEC Material 10. ICRAF-Visayas Site Brochure IEC Material 11. Site Description Booklet on ICRAF-Visayas 4 Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 Executive Summary The project "Scaling-Up Successful Agroforestry Practices and the Landcare Approach to a Wider Range of Tropical Hillside Environments in the Philippines" was implemented from early 2001 to middle of 2003 through the support of the Agenda Espanola de Cooperaci6n Internacional. It was implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre formerly known as ICRAF in collaboration with different institutions/organizations, which aimed at validating and adapting the successful low-cost soil conservation and agroforestry technologies combined with testing the efficiency of the Landcare approach in promoting conservation farming and empowering local communities. It is purposely implemented to enhance the impact of improved natural resource management on a wider scale and in contrasting bio-physical, socio-economic and institutional environments. The research and development activities focused on the provinces of Bohol and Leyte, located in Region VII and VIII, respectively. Selected municipalities and villages represent the typical bio-physical and socio-economic conditions in the degraded uplands of Central Philippines. The upland ecosystems in these areas are among the most highly stressed and degraded in the region and the rural population among the poorest in the country. In the process of project implementation, strategic partnerships were forged with key government and non-government organizations in the area focusing on upland development. The low-cost soil conservation technology specifically known as natural vegetative filter strips (NVS) and other agroforestry technologies were tested under the shallow calcareous soil environments of the Central Philippines. Facilitating the formation of farmer-led group known as Landcare approach and intensive information support system were used to enhance participatory technology development and dissemination. Technical backstopping through training and actual field activities was also provided to partner institutions/organizations. In more than two years of project implementation, the following key learnings were gained: • Establishment of strategic partnerships with existing national agricultural research and development institutions, local government units, NGOs and farmer groups is an important factor in the successful implementation and scaling-up of Landcare initiatives; • Institutional environment particularly existence of external community support initiatives plays a crucial role in the efficiency of scaling up technical and institutional innovations; Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 • Strengthening the relationships among key players on natural resource management such as landlords, local government units and existing grassroots groups, plays a major role to ensure the participation and sustainability of our Landcare initiatives, research and development; • Intensive IEC to orient and involve different stakeholders on the Landcare-related activities is the first step on the scaling-up approach; • Building on existing practices, and traditional systems of knowledge exchange and dissemination enhances project impact; • Low-cost natural vegetative filter strips are at least as effective in the shallow calcareous soil environments as under deep acidic soil conditions in Northern Mindanao; • Complementary practices are needed to enhance soil fertility on cultivated slopes under the low-external input conditions typical for most of the Central Philippine uplands; • Diversification from fast growing tree species for their integration into existing farming systems are needed to complement and enhance tree-growing initiatives by smallholders. Market studies, and policy research and intervention need to be done. The duration of project implementation allows for scaling up of conservation farming and agroforestry practices and Landcare in some areas in the Central Philippines. However, two years is quite short to allow a thorough documentation of the processes involved in scaling up the technologies and approaches, and for conducting in-depth assessment of its impacts. In-depth analysis/evaluation of impacts of scaling up conservation farming and agroforestry practices and Landcare approach to a wider range of tropical hillside environment is needed to fully assess their potential for extrapolation to similar sites and to draw implications at the national level. Final Report: March 2001 - July 2003 List of Acronyms AECI Agenda Espanola de Cooperation Internacional ACIAR Australian Center for International Agricultural Research ARCDP Agrarian Reform Communities Development Project BADALFA Baryong Daan Landcare Farmers Association