Production and Utilization of Indigenous Rice in Poblacion, Barlig, Mountain Province

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to determine the socio-economic profile of the respondents in Poblacion Barlig, Mountain Province; the practices of the farmers on indigenous rice production along with seedling preparation, land preparation, transplanting, irrigation, crop protection and harvesting; the postharvest and utilization practices of indigenous rice; and the common problems encountered by the rice farmers. This study was conducted from January to April 2016. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data and analyzed using descriptive statistics such frequency and percentage. Thirty respondents were chosen, who are engaged in indigenous rice production. Findings show that the majority of the respondents are females; at the age range of 51-60, married, literate and most of them have farming experience of 20-25 years. The production practices of the farmers were more of the traditional practices, they make use of any available resources like weeds, azolla and rice hays to decompose as organic fertilizers. Land preparation, transplanting, weeding and harvesting practices are all done manually. Traps and scarecrows are used to cocontrol pests. The harvested crops were stored in the ceiling of their houses or over fire place. Threshing and milling of rice is done with the use of the mortar and pestle (“al-o and losong”). Most of the rice produce were for family consumption and the diket (glutinous) were usually made into delicacies during family and community occasions. The main problems were the infestation of pests and lack of irrigation water during summer. In conclusion, the farmers use indigenous practices in the production of local rice in the study area. There is high potential of the indigenous rice for high-end market if production will be increased. It is highly recommended that farmers’ indigenous practices in the rice production will be sustained and improve productivity towards organic production. More researches should be done to address the identified problems.