Farmers’ participatory research and adoption of aerobic rice in the Philippines

Abstract

Aerobic rice is a technology that uses less water than irrigated rice. As the global problem of declining water supply continues, IRRI took the lead in research on and development of aerobic rice in the Philippines in 2001. Farmer participatory research and development and adoption surveys were some of the initial activities undertaken in the Philippines. Preliminary testing of three promising aerobic rice varieties in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija showed that, in farmers’ field conditions, Apo has the highest yield (4.0 to 5.5 t ha−1) among the three varieties. However, further testing of Apo in Bulacan revealed a minimum yield of 2.0 t ha−1. One breeding line, IR74371-54-1-1, was highly preferred by farmers and it was released in the Philippines in 2009 as Sahod Ulan 1, its local name, withNSIC Rc 192 (IRRI 148) as its designation. This line yielded 5.26 t ha−1 in Bulacan, and is now adopted by farmers in Bulacan and La Union provinces. A case study conducted in Bulacan revealed that, initially, farmers’ interest in adopting was highly driven by the perceived advantage in crop establishment and less water usage of aerobic rice. When gaining more experience and knowledge, farmers consider specific criteria such as marketability and follow a certain decision tree in deciding whether to adopt or not adopt any new technology. Results of socioeconomic assessment of 80 farmers consisting of adopters and nonadopters in Bulacan revealed that the yield of aerobic rice may be lower than that of lowland rice, but it has comparable profitability. Hence, aerobic rice production can be a good alternative for farmers in rainfed and water-short areas but not a substitute for flooded rice. Location-specific varieties that take into consideration water availability and existing high-/low-input management practices are needed for aerobic rice technology development and adoption