How to farm hilly lands

Hillyland farmers within the 84.5-hectare Mapawa catchment in Sitio, Mapawa, Barangay Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon adopts Natural Vegetative Strips (NVS) technology to protect soil erosion.

This finding emerged from a consultation among the farmers and the project team of the Management of Soil Erosion Consortium (MSEC) project being coordinated by the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

The joint undertaking is a project of PCARRD, the Northern Mindanao Consortium for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development (NOMCARRD), Central Mindanao University (CMU), Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Region X (DENR-X), and the Local Government Unit of Lantapan (LGU-Lantapan).

A project team composed of representatives from these various institutions oversees the implementation of the project. As of April 2003, 38 farmers cultivate the area, 21 of them are residents of Mapawa 15 of whom have already adopted NVS.

NVS, developed and tested by the International Center for Research in Agroforestry or ICRAF (now World Agroforestry Center), uses naturally growing grasses and herbs arranged in narrow strips along the contour of hilly areas. NVS is an easy and economical way of conserving and maintaining soil productivity in hilly lands. The vegetation that is naturally growing in the strips filters the eroded soils, slows down the lateral water flow, and enhances water infiltration.

Farmers and researchers of ICRAF studied NVS and found out that it can reduce annual soil loss by as much as 90 percent, which is about 20 tons per hectare.

To enhance farmer’s interest and increase their awareness on the technology, trainings and cross-site visits to farms adopting the technology were conducted by the project in coordination with ICRAF.

The visit of Mapawa farmers and Barangay officials to the well-established NVS farms in Claveria, Misamis Oriental proved to be a worthwhile trip. Observing the terraces formed through long-term NVS practice, and interaction with the farmer-adoptors in the area resulted in better appreciation of the technology.

The MSEC project, the local government unit of Lantapan, and the newly established Mapawa Conservation Farmers’ Association (MACOFA) work together to conserve the Mapawa catchment using NVS and other soil and water conservation practices. – Ma. Teresa L. de Guzman, S&T Media Service