SANREM - Agroforestry and Sustainable Vegetable Production in Southeast Asian Watersheds

About the Project:

VAF-Technology

VAF system is inevitably the most appropriate technology for the uplands to enhance the productivity, profitability and protective functions of vegetable production system in a sustainable manner, while reducing production risks and environmental hazards inherent to vegetable production systems. This study hypothesized that ‘in intensive vegetable production system in the uplands, monoculture systems are not sustainable, but integrating trees is feasible and offers better prospects’. The objective is to integrate trees on intensive vegetable farming systems with minimal negative interaction, thus, increasing productivity, profitability, nutrient use efficiency and environmental services.

Accomplishments
• Recommended vegetable-tree combinations and management
• Improved options for tree spacing and vegetable-tree intercrop patterns
• Identified profitable vegetable-tree systems
• Paper presentation: Mercado, AR Jr., C Duque-Piñon, M Reyes, M Palada, L Engle, F Faustino, G Luther, G Manurong, J Roshetko, B Purwoko, A Susila and TV My. 2008.  Can vegetables be more productive under tree-based systems?  Presented at the SANREM CRSP 2008 Annual Meeting, Los Baños, Philippines, 26-29 May 2008.
• Paper presentation: Agustin Mercado, Gil Arcenal, Caroline Duque-Piñon, Manuel Palada and Manuel Reyes, 2009. Vegetable-Agroforestry (VAF) System: Understanding tree-vegetable interactions is a key to successful vegetable enterprises. Paper presented at the Seminar on Agroforestry and Sustainable Vegetable Production in Southeast Asian Watersheds, Malaybalay City, 26 January 2009.
• Conducted various training and seminars on VAF and other technologies related to VAF (e.g. drip irrigation with UPLB, vegetable grafting with AVRDC)
• Conducted field visits, farmers field day and participatory evaluation
• Developed flyers on VAF system (English and Visayan)

VAF-Policy
VAF system is a viable farming system in the uplands. Vegetable integration in tree-based systems, or tree integration in vegetable production, provides multiple benefits, including provision of micronutrients to the diet of rural community, and enhancement of on-farm biodiversity and environmental sustainability. However, its viability is constrained by various factors, including farmers’ inability to invest in the system, inadequate institutional structures for facilitating information flow, insufficient market infrastructure, and lack of price support. Conceivably, there is a need for incentive-based policies, to stimulate investments on VAF by smallholders.  Effective institutional mechanisms for facilitating adoption must also be identified and addressed if smallholders are to adopt VAF system. This policy-action research aims to develop policy options and institutional framework that stimulate investments and promote adoption of VAF system.

Specifically, it aims to:
• Understand the policy and institutional context of VAF systems at national and local levels;
• Develop and test an incentive-based policy option and institutional framework for promoting VAF systems

Accomplishments
• Facilitated the development of Lantapan Sustainable Farming System (SFS) Investment Plan (2009-2013)
• Facilitated the adoption of Lantapan Incentive-based Policy Program (Municipal Ordinanace No. 114) to promote and support  adoption of VAf system and other conservation practices
• Facilitated the establishments of institutions necessary to implement the Lantapan Incentive-based Policy-Program (e.g. Municipal Agriculture Office, Technical Advisory Committee on Incentives, Barangay Agriculture and Fishery Councils, Municipal Agriculture and Fishery Councils)
• Journal paper: Catacutan, D, C Duque-Piñon. 2008. The policy environment of vegetable-agroforestry (VAF) system in the Philippines: Are there incentives for smallholders? International Journal for Ecology and Development, Vol. 14, No. F09.
• Journal paper: The policy environment of Vegetable-Agroforestry (VAf) in the Philippines and Vietnam: A scoping study – Submitted to a journal
• Paper presentation: Catacutan, D, D.T. Ha, C. Duque-Piñon and L.T. Loan. 2008.  The Policy Context of Vegetable Agroforestry in the Philippines and Vietnam: Are there incentives for small farmers? Paper Presented at the SANREM CRSP 2008 Annual Meeting, Los Baños, Philippines, 26-29 May 2008.
• Paper presentation: Delia Catacutan, Dang Than Ha, Caroline Duque-Piñon, Lee Thanh Loan. 2008. The Policy Context of Vegetable-Agroforestry (VAF) Systems in the Philippines and Vietnam: Are there incentives for smallholders? Powerpoint presentation during the Seminar at Southeast Asian Fellows Caucus, Harvard University, USA, 15 December 2008.
• Paper presentation: Delia Catacutan, DT Ha, Caroline Duque-Piñon and LT Loan, 2009. The Policy Context of Vegetable Agroforestry (VAF) in the Philippines and Vietnam: Are there incentives for small farmers? Paper presented at the Seminar on Agroforestry and Sustainable Vegetable Production in Southeast Asian Watersheds, Malaybalay City, 26 January 2009.
• Policy briefs:
1) The policy and institutional context of VAF System in the Philippines – published and distributed to partners;
2) A closer look on the Magna Carta for small farmers - draft; and
3) Localized incentive-based policy for VAF—Bridging policy gaps - draft

World Agroforestry Centre
PHILIPPINES Country Office
Khush Hall, International Rice Research Institute
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
PO Box 35024, UPLB, College, Laguna
4031, Philippines
Telephone: +63 2 845 0563/70/75
Telefax: +63 49 536 2925