BRIDGING THE GAP
Traditional farming practices & sustainable development
Humans are part of a larger community called ecosystem that includes plants and animals and other physical features of the environment. Ecology therefore studies the ways in which all living organisms, including humans, interact with the environment. Philips (1969) broadly defines ecology as "the study of economic and non-economic relationships between human groups and their physical environment, especially as they occur within the community."
The specification of economic and non-economic relationships between man and his environment, according to Philips, refers to two alternate emphases within the field. On the one hand is the emphasis of neoclassical ecologists on economic factors to explain man's relationship to his physical environment. On the other is the emphasis of cultural ecologists on non-economic factors, like spiritual and aesthetic values. The neoclassical ecologists believe that man's relationship with his environment is mainly concerned with economic activities like hunting, fishing, and farming.
Indigenous culture always draws from the natural environment enough for one's needs. Local belief systems dictate that one must honor nature and give back to the land what he draws from it. This symbolic and symbiotic relationship demands that a human being must be with nature rather than master over it. This is the perception that has sustained rice farming practices in Panay through the centuries until the introduction of the so-called "modern methods".
Despite the intrusion of modern farming, some “kaingin” farmers in the hinterlands of Panay have continued to observe the traditional beliefs and practices. These upland farmers usually observe proper utilization of resources. Grasses that are uprooted in the “kaingin” plot are not thrown away. Some are used as “kumpay” or feeds for carabaos and goats while the rest are left to decay or are burned in the field to serve as fertilizer. Tall cogon grasses are first cut and set aside for roofing materials before the remaining lower sections are burned.
Once planted, the upland rice field or the “kaingin” has to be protected from birds and harmful insects - though little protection can be taken against the swarm of locusts. Locust infestation is believed by the folks to be a “gaba” or God's punishment for man's sinfulness just like what happened to Egypt during the time of Moses. A field hut has to be manned daily and reinforced when the palay grains have ripened. Birds are driven off by beating large pieces of bamboo, by pulling cords with dangling old clothes, by scarecrows, or by activating wooden noise-makers at the edge of the field.
To combat harmful insects, some upland farmers make use of their knowledge of the ecological balance between the prey and the predators in the field. They know that harmful insects are generally the food of the chickens, dragonflies, frogs, and the large rice spiders. The same is true with herons and quails that are voracious predators of these palay-destructive insects. Thus, as much as possible, the farmers do not harm or shoo away these predators in his farm.
Although some upland farmers have started to use insecticide, the high cost of this manufactured product has contributed greatly to the perpetuation of traditional practices. This has also led to the use of plants as traditional insect repellants. An example of this is the use of the tubers of the kayos plant or of the tobacco leaves.
Contrary to popular belief, snakes are not indiscriminately killed when found by farmers in the “kaingin”. The green or rice-snake which commonly inhabits the palay fields is considered to be friendly to the farmers as it helps in guarding plants from possible harm. Another kind of snake, which is colored brown and white, is also spared because it is believed to be a lucky charm and is considered to be an effective security guard of rice granaries against rodents.
Although the upland farmers find commercial fertilizer effective, some of them refrain from using it because of the expensive cost and difficulty in transporting to far places. Thus, they utilize instead fertilizers that are organic in nature such as animal manure, chicken dung, burned dried leaves of trees, compost, decayed plants, and pulled grasses.
If only the younger Filipinos do not discredit these traditional beliefs and practices, and begin to look and listen to the signs and sounds of nature and of the times, they will rediscover how much wealth of knowledge and wisdom their ancestors have bequeathed on them. This inheritance may help Filipinos sustain themselves and to survive in the face of unsettling globalization.