A soil health enhancement program is set to improve the productivity and sustainability of rice and rubber cropping systems in the Philippines, particularly in Agusan del Sur, Ilocos Norte, Tarlac, Bataan, and Cotabato. It emphasizes site-specific fertilizer management, and the creation of a centralized soil information system that can guide farmers, researchers, and policymakers in making evidence-based agricultural decisions.
This initiative is driven by the program, “Developing Soil Knowledge, Information, and Capacity to Improve the Productivity and Sustainability of Key Cropping Systems in the Philippines.” The program aims to address persistent challenges in Philippine agriculture, particularly low productivity, soil degradation, and weak soil health management in multiple cropping systems.
Under the said program, five projects are currently being implemented, which establishes a rice-based and rubber-based cropping system; improvement of nutrient management in rice-based systems such as rice-rice, rice-garlic, and rice-vegetable, and establishment of soil health indicators. Other projects aim to strengthen soil management knowledge for capacity building and policy support, and development of an interactive web platform accessible to farmers, researchers, and policymakers nationwide.
The program aims to benefit a wide range of stakeholders in agriculture and environmental management. These are farmers and agricultural cooperatives who directly manage crops; agricultural extension services and government agencies that provide technical support and policies, and researchers, scientists, and educational institutions that generate and disseminate knowledge. Environmental conservation organizations, technology developers,
non-governmental organizations, development agencies, and local communities are also set to benefit, ensuring that the program’s outcomes reach multiple levels of society and contribute to both agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.
Beyond farm-level gains, the program will also contribute to shaping a national soil health policy for the Philippines, in partnership with Australia.
This five-year program is being implemented by the Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology (ASSCAT), Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), and the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), in collaboration with the provincial governments of Agusan del Sur, Ilocos Norte, Tarlac, Bataan, and Cotabato. It is funded and monitored by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
The program is being led by Griffith University, Australia. It is supported by various government agencies and institutions, including the House of Representatives through the active participation of district representatives and local government units of Agusan del Sur, Tarlac, Bataan, Ilocos Norte, and Cotabato. Likewise the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) joined the efforts to further strengthen the collaborative efforts that drive the success of the initiative.
The program was inspired by the earlier completed PCAARRD-ACIAR program, “Development of Rubber-based Cropping Systems in Southern Philippines,” implemented by USM and Caraga State University. The program developed four rubber based cropping systems that showed promising yield and income for farmers, surpassing regional and national average yield.