By Danilo P. Padua
Where heirloom rice is grown, environmental protection is practiced.
At least that is true in the Cordillera region. This is a legacy, a heritage that our forebears in the Cordillera had bequeathed to the present generation and hopefully to the generations yet to come. This can’t be discounted by any yardstick.
The heirloom rice in the Philippines had long been neglected, almost irreparably assigned to the pantheon of oblivion.
It took a foreigner, an American Peace Corp volunteer, to make us realize the importance and urgency of preserving our endangered heirloom rices. Although they were not grown as source of livelihood for the farmers, they were integral part of their culture and tradition. Ms Mary Hensley, the volunteer in Lubuagan, Kalinga from 1976-1978, never forgot the “best thing that she and other volunteers had eaten” while here in the country. Her mind always kept coming back to the flavorful, aromatic sticky rice and how she could help introduce it to the outside world. Upon learning that the people in the villages were abandoning their rice terraces for economic reasons, she resolved to come back and help them continue growing the heirloom rice and making sure that they benefit financially from their farming operations.
She set up the socially responsible Eighth Wonder, Inc entity to specifically import the heirloom rice from the Cordillera so the farmers could earn. Needless to say, she earns also in the process. She linked up with Revitalized Indigenous Cordilleran Entrepreneurs (RICE), Inc., headed by Ms. Vicky Garcia, to make desired activities possible. Ms Garcia is not also originally from the Cordillera but she too, is helping to make the Cordillera heirloom rice be known abroad such as in Italy.
The trailblazing efforts of the two women resulted in the exportation of our heirloom rice, initially of about 8-17 tons per shipment in 2005. Lubuagan and Pasil, Kalinga were the initial sources of such exports. Ifugao started to follow suit in 2007 then Mtn. Province in 2008. Last year, 960 tons of heirloom rice was exported to the US but only 20 tons came from the Cordillera. The rest was sourced out from Mindoro and Mindanao. The rice export lands in the state of Montana where it is distributed to adjoining states and to nearby Canada. The export is handled by the Rice Terraces Farmers Cooperative based in Ifugao.
In Mtn. Province, Barlig is the frontliner in heirloom rice production. According to Mr. Ceferino C. Oryan the municipal agricultural officer, Barlig has 36,053 hectares, 70% of which has a forest cover. This supports the 600 hectares of rice terraces devoted to heirloom rice production producing about 1,800 tons per year. Most of such produce though are for home consumption based on their age-old belief that their granary should never be emptied at any time. In short, the heirloom rice farming is very vital for their food security concerns as well as forest conservation.
Having been involved in heirloom rice production since 2008, Mr. Oryan told of a very interesting story about Barlig almost becoming another Benguet as far as vegetable production is concerned. Some forested areas had been cleared for the purpose but timely intervention by the people and the LGU officials nipped in the bud the impending environmental catastrophe. That’s a community recipe to avert man-made disaster. Attention Benguet!
Barlig has 32 known heirloom rice varieties but only 9 of which were qualified to be grown for export. Presently only two, Chorchor-os (also called Tinawon) and Ominio (deep violet or so-called black rice, christened as Mountain violet in the US), are actually being grown in substantial hectarage. The former is for food security purposes while the latter is intended for export.
The perseverance of Ms. Hensley and Ms. Garcia definitely caught the attention of the International Rice Research Institute and the Department of Agriculture thru Philrice. They are now spearheading the Heirloom Rice Research & Development Project commencing this year. Last week, a workshop devoted to this project was conducted at the Benguet State University, specifically at the ATI complex within the campus. Other agencies involved in the project include BPI, ATI, PLGU, MLGU, SCUs, NCIP –CAR, RICE, INC, RTFC. The project sites consist of Banaue, Hungduan, Mayoyao (Ifugao); Pasil, Lubuagan (Kalinga); Barlig, Bauko (Mtn. Province) and Kibungan (Benguet).
Because of the project and what had been done earlier by the two great ladies, there is a bright “ray of hope for the Cordillera heirloom rice”. It is about ready to fly high in the sky.
For this year, the Cordillera region is expected to contribute 50 tons for export, mostly coming from Kalinga. For export, the traditional heirloom rice like Tinawon fetches 60 pesos per kilo while it is 80 pesos for the glutinous. Sold locally, it costs surprisingly more at 100 pesos per kilo.
The black rice has been found to contain abundant amount of antioxidants that even medical practitioners are known to prescribe this to their patients such as cancer patients
Mr. Oryan strongly believes that there should be greater support from the LGUs for the heirloom rice due to its cultural, economic and environmental importance. I strongly agree. Let us protect and preserve a heritage.**
